Cast Away with Seto Kaiba
by sempaiko
Summary: Tea is stranded on a deserted island with Seto Kaiba!What'll happen?Anything that can happen when you're stuck all alone with someone you despise.Being alone together may drive them to any number of places.[Kaiba x Tea] [Seto x Anzu]
1. Stranded!

I DO NOT OWN YUGIOH!

* * *

CAST AWAY WITH SETO KAIBA

Chapter 1 - Stranded!

Tea tapped her foot in the water's edge. She was tired, she was hurt, and she was upset..... and, she was hungry. She flopped back on the rock she was sitting on, her foot dangling in the water. She was at the water hole while she thought. He was bound to come back sooner or later. This was the only fresh water source they had. She hoped he would come back soon. It would be getting dark soon.

Oh god, was she worrying about him now? She huffed loudly, blowing her bangs off her face. If it was one thing being stuck on an island with him, it was another that she was beginning to get attached and perhaps used to his very presence by now.

Why was he so upset? Oh yeah, she insulted his family and his entire ego-maniacal, self centered, crummy attitude. Well, it wasn't like he had said anything nice to her, though. They had gotten into a fight, the biggest of many they had already had for the past few days.

This was a complete nightmare.

And when were they going to be found? Surely someone as important as him would have thousands of people looking for him. Then again, maybe the people who were after him in the first place were making sure no one found where he had disappeared to. For all anyone knew, they were both dead.

The sky was getting darker by the minute. Maybe she would go back to the hut..... then again, that brought back a bad memory from this morning. There was no way she was going back there without him. It wasn't like he was any help this morning, though. She growled again at herself. Where was he already? He must have gotten thirsty. She pulled her feet out of the water, and sat Indian style on the rock, watching the small waterfall in the distance.

Then she saw a figure come from behind a row of trees. It was him. Even from far away, she could hear him cursing and mumbling something, as he literally ripped off his shirt and discarded his pants, and jumped into the cool water. Tea almost felt her jaw drop ten feet. Never once during their few days here had he taken off his clothes with her in the vicinity. Maybe he didn't see her. She confirmed this as she watched him scrub his head, still cursing. She lay down on her belly to watch him with a little more stealth.

He was definitely still angry. He dunked his head in the water briefly, before pulling back out. Tea literally died; it was like slow motion suddenly. His chin and neck were stretched backwards, his shoulder blades perfectly square and set, his chest toned and flat, his hair was even dripping water down all those wonderful features. She gulped.... even she had to admit that he was hot! She suddenly forgot that he was a total jerk, and realized that he was an extremely perfect specimen of the ideal male body. She bit her lip.

He seemed to sense someone, and scanned the perimeter, and his eyes fell on hers in the distance, and he stared at her for a moment with something strange in his eyes. Then his brow furrowed into the perpetual frown she was all too used to by now. She almost hit herself in the head; this looked really awkward.

How in the hell did she get into this damn mess? How in the hell did she get stuck on a deserted island with Seto Kaiba?!!!

* * *

_Four days earlier.................._

"This time, Yugi, you can forget about playing your dark magician, because I activate my crush card, destroying all high level monsters from your deck!" Kaiba spat, laughing maniacally. He watched as Yugi stared down at his duel disc, his high level cards slipping away. Kaiba smiled evilly.

"You may think you have the upperhand, Kaiba, but I know I have faith in the-" Yugi was cut off.

"The heart of the cards...... yes, I've heard it before. Don't bore me with your little one-liners, because quite frankly, it's not going to do you a bit of good this time, because I'm not done with my turn yet. I know what you were planning to with the winged dragon of Ra, but I'm way ahead of you. I play monster reborn and bring back Ra as the Phoenix god on my side of the field! Rise my fiery beast!" Kaiba began to laugh harder as Ra was released from Yugi's graveyard and appeared on his side of the field, facing Yugi.

"No!" Was all Yugi could get out, looking very surprised.

"Oh _yes_..... and you can believe that you're going to be history as soon as I call my attack! Phoenix, attack Yugi's life points dire-" As soon as Kaiba was calling the attack, he noticed Yugi activating a trap, but before he could even see or hear what it was, he was thrown to the ground by a large explosion. He looked around, and suddenly saw fighter jets zooming by in the air, firing at them. Who in the-? Another explosion, and the duel holograms flickered. He growled, and looked up to see Yugi on his knees as well, shaken by the blasts. The holograms completely shut off and an alarm began to sound.

"What's happen' here!?" Shouted Joey, running up to help Yugi to his feet. "Is like we're in da middle of a war or somethin'!" Joey was followed by Tea Gardner, Tristan, and Duke Devlin out onto the dueling platform that was situated on Kaiba's massive yacht.

"We have to get out of here!" Tea eclaimed, looking around frantically. The planes were circling back around. She looked over to where Kaiba was. He was just staring at the planes intentively, not making a move. Joey, Yugi, Duke, and Tristan were already jumping down off the platform. They called after her when they realized she wasn't with them.

Kaiba looked up and squinted his eyes, trying to make out the model of the fighter planes attacking him. He could almost make out the logo, just barely. It looked really familiar. Then the planes started to fire again, but he was shoved out of the way by something. He frowned, but then saw that where he would have been was now steaming with fresh bullet holes. He looked down to see what had shoved him out of the way. It was that annoying cheerleader of Yugi's –Tea Gardner.

"Kaiba, we have to get out of here, quit daydreaming!" She exclaimed, and he grunted as he stood up quickly and scanned the yacht's deck. Another stream of bullets pierced the dueling platform and broke it in half, the ship groaning as water flooded inside.

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Yugi and the others watched in horror as another parade of bullets separated them from Tea and Kaiba. The platform was broken and now too nunstable to walk across to get to them. Mokuba Kaiba ran up besides them.

"Brother!" He shouted, but a wall of flames blocked their view. They couldn't see across the platform anymore. "No! Brother!" Mokuba felt tears in his eyes, but he had to be strong. He had to be strong like Seto! He turned to the others, who were shouting for Tea as well as Kaiba. "We have to get to the life boats!" He exclaimed, and led the way. Everyone followed. Mokuba knew that if Seto had survived that last attack, he would be heading straight for his Blue Eyes jet. Maybe Seto was okay.

---------------

Kaiba had to get to his Blue Eyes jet to escape. Good thing it was on this side of the boat, since getting across the surface was now impossible due to the platform being completely destroyed. The planes were circling back around, and he noticed a weight on his arm. He looked down, and saw that Gardner girl holding onto him tightly. She looked up at him. "Kaiba! What's wrong?!"

He spun and began to run towards the Blue Eyes' hanger. She followed close behind him, nowhere else for her to go. Her friends were hopefully getting in the escape boats on the other side of the yacht. She hoped they were alright. Kaiba led her to a large hanger where a massive Blue Eyes White Dragon jet sat. Kaiba ran up to the head, where the seats were and punched the sequence in to open the hatch. The ship shook again, and the ceiling looked like it was about to fall down on them, and water was beginning to gather at their feet.

Kaiba jumped in, and began to start up the Blue Eyes. He hadn't even noticed Tea crawling into the back seat. All he was concered with was getting the Blue Eyes started and getting the hell off the yacht. He closed the head of his jet, and the engines fired up with a loud blast. He put on his headset and tried to open the bay doors, but they wouldn't work. He then readied the missiles and fired it at the side of the hanger, tearing a massive hole in the side. He fired the engines up and roared out through the hole, but was emmediately met by the fighter jets attacking them.

He saw for a moment that there were life boats sailing away from the yacht, and he was sure Mokuba was on one of them. He had to lead away the fighters so they wouldn't go after the lifeboats. He circled once around, making sure to draw the attention of the fighter jets. They definitely saw him, because he was met with a barrage of bullets. He zoomed away from the sinking yacht and the others.

He didn't know who these fools were, but they were about to meet a very pissed off Seto Kaiba. A very pissed off Seto Kaiba with guns. He zoomed away, being followed by the fighter jets. Whoever they were, they wanted him dead. But he wouldn't go down without a fight!

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She was sure Kaiba had forgotten all about her. He hadn't even said anything to her. Not anything, like 'get in' or 'come on' or anything! She was gripping onto the seat belts tightly. It was a rough ride, and the jet was spinning and turning really quickly, making her sick to the stomach. There were gun shots and alarms blaring. A sharp turn made her squeal uncomfortably, but there was a giant explosion, and she guessed Kaiba had gotten one of them by a barely audible satisfactory grunt he made.

He spun the jet to dogde some bullets and then took them straight up. She closed her eyes. This was too much! Before she knew it, he was nosediving something, and he fired two big missiles from the sound of it. There was two more explosions, but then she heard Kaiba curse. There was a loud beeping. He muttered something like 'another target?' before she heard a loud explosion again. But this time it sounded different.

"Shit!" Kaiba exclaimed, before pulling them into a streamline of evasive maneuvers that made her dizzy. She covered her head with her hands, and heard loud mechanical screaming noises from either side of the jet. She dared to look out the window to see giant flying blades all around them. Kaiba was desperately trying to lose them, but there were too many of them.

"Oh god!" Tea exclaimed, as she saw the blades suddenly veer towards them with great speed, and Kaiba tried to dodge, but the blades sliced though the entire jet, cutting it into pieces. Tea screamed as a blade cut right behind her and sliced the head off of the Blue Eyes. They were now tumbling, wind and alarms blasting her ears until they felt like exploding.

The hit the water with a loud thud and crash. She hit her arm against a cut piece of metal and screamed in pain, but her mouth was filled emmediately with water. She reached for her seat belt and undid it, and tried to crawl out the back where the head was cut off. She managed to get out and float towards the surface. She looked down briefly and saw the head sinking away quickly. On no! Kaiba!

She hit the surface and gasped for air. She looked around at the dark and turbulent sea. Debris littered the surface of the water. She went for a floating piece of plastic, which she realized was the top of the Blue Eyes' cockpit window. If this was blown off, then Kaiba would have been able to get out of the cockpit. She looked around.

"Kaiba! Kaiba! Are you out there?!" There was no answer, and the waves were loud. "Kaiba!"

Suddenly the plastic tipped, and she thought it was losing balance, until she heard a grunt besides her. She looked over to see Seto Kaiba crawling onto the plastic with her. "Quit yelling." He commanded hoarsely. He coughed, and spat up some water.

"Kaiba!" She exclaimed, and almost hugged him, but he was on the other side of the plastic, holding on. He looked exhausted and very pissed. He looked at her oddly then for a moment.

"Why are you here?" He asked accusingly.

Tea made a confused face. What in the –no matter the situation, Kaiba always found a way to be rude and cynical. Would he not have cared if she had been left on the yacht? He did forget she was with him! He had already forgotten that she had literally saved his life when they were being shot at! She was fuming, but too exhausted to yell at him about it. She sighed and gripped the plastic tightly as the seas began to calm.

She looked into the horizon, and thought she saw something. She squinted. It was something! It looked like land or and island. She pointed and turned to Kaiba, who was already staring in the direction.

"I see it." He replied coldly, and pushed off the plastic and began to swim towards it. It only took a moment for tea to follow behind him and swim towards shore.

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_A/N: Well, here i am again, making abother fanfic, with others that aren't even done yet! this fanfic, though, is just something for me to write in for fun. when im stressed with the other stories, i can come here and just have fun. this is meant to be a funny/romantic piece, but this first chapter is a little dramatic and actionpacked -kinda. im in the middle of revising and rewriting my other kaiba x tea one 'heart of the cards' b/c it is not going in the direction i want it to, so it's being redone and edited (thats why you haven't seen my update it yet). anyway, hope you enjoy this little sidequest thing i have going here... okay, gotta go, bye.... only nice reviews please, keep your hate to yourself!_


	2. The First Day

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

Chapter 2 – The First Day

They got to shore in the dark, illuminated only by the moon's soft blue light. Tired from the swim, Kaiba collapsed on the beach's edge, his feet still in the water. Tea crawled and laid on her back a few feet from him. She was so tired, her head began to feel dizzy, and she looked to her side and the sight of Kaiba next to her began to blur. Soon it faded, and she was knocked out.

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The next thing she knew, it was morning, and the sun was bright as it was raising from the horizon. She sat up and groaned, her body aching. She had a terrible headache to boot. She lazily looked back to where Kaiba had been last night, but she found he was not there. She spun and looked around. She saw a figure in the distance near the line of trees next to the beach. The familiar purple coat was still on his shoulders, and his back was facing her. She stood on wobbly feet and trekked across the sand to him.

He tilted his head slightly at the sound of her shuffling, but never acknowledged her. She got close enough to see what he was doing. He was laying out his duel monsters cards to dry on a large flat rock. She was amazed his dueling disc had even stayed on during all of this, let alone, still hold all the cards in place.

"Are they damaged?" She asked, leaning in.

He said nothing. He waved a leaf over them to help dry them off.

She huffed and decided to take a seat next to him, staring at the cards. He tensed up just a bit, and looked over at her annoyed. Well, at least he had finally acknowledged her. But he said nothing, and then continued to look over his cards.

He couldn't see any of them missing. They were all here, especially his three Blue Eyes. Kaiba retraced the events of last night. It all had happened so quickly. Someone was trying to kill him, and had pretty updated and efficient technology to _almost_ pull it off. The flying blades weapon that destroyed his Blue Eyes jet was unlike anything he had seen, and he had seen a lot, with Kaiba Corp originally being a weapons designer and distributer.

He looked out into the forrest of the small island they were stranded on. What a predicament this was. He was sure that Mokuba was by now heading the search party to find him, along with those brats and Yugi. They would probably be seriously worried about Gardner too. He heard her make a noise of pain, and he couldn't help but look to the side at her. He frowned. "You're bleeding." He replied, and she nodded, looking to her arm.

"I noticed!" She growled. She put her hand to the wound, but it hurt badly, and she winced. Before she could really react, Kaiba was ripping material –from directly off her body! As he tore the bottom half of her beige shirt off, she felt her temperature rise and her heart begin to beat rapidly. His swift long fingers had traced her belly and around her sides to her back to rip off the rest of the bottom half of the shirt. She gulped as he brought his hands back up and began to dress the wound.

Then she noticed he had plenty of clothes on himself! He had a coat –a long one! And also long pants and a shirt. She raised an eyebrow. She had completely forgotten about the pain, she was more concentrated on the fact she was now wearing an extremely short shirt.

"Kaiba....." She began angrily.

He finished tying the bandage and leaned away from her. "There. No need to thank me."

A vien popped in her head and she fisted her hand. "Why didn't you ask me before you completely destroyed my shirt?!" She exclaimed, and stood trembling in anger. But by standing, Kaiba now had a pretty good view of under her shirt from below. His eyes trailed slowly from her waist to her eyes. She almost shivered if it wasn't for her anger causing her to quiver already. Dark blue eyes met bright sapphire ones and stayed there.

"I just helped you, you could be a little more greatful." He replied coldly, and looked away from her and back to his drying deck. "You should be thankful I even allowed you to ride in my jet to escape." He said, and she frowned.

"Excuse me?" She placed her hands on her hips. "I should be thankful? What about you? I saved your life back there on the dueling platform!" She exclaimed, and saw him set his shoulders and he stood up upruptly. She had to look up to look into his eyes. He was a lot more menacing now than when he was sitting down.

"I was perfectly alright, and if it wasn't for you knocking me down, I would have seen exactly who was attacking us!" He exclaimed back.

"You can be so arrogant sometimes!" She growled.

"And you can be quite unappreciative at times." He spat back. She sucked in a breath and pointed a finger at him, jabbing it at his chest.

"If you had everything under control, then why are we even stranded here in the first place? You can't blame this predicament on me, I didn't do anything but save your sorry ass from being punched full of holes!" She exclaimed.

His eyes squinted. He didn't need to hear this whining from someone like her. As much as he wanted to continue their little 'disagreement' he decided he should be a little diplomatic if he was going to be stranded here with her for who knew how long. Kaiba's sense of dimplomacy came out as, "Maybe next time this will teach you not to mess with me or any of my affairs, and that includes my life."

Tea cocked an eyebrow at this statement. What a bastard! She huffed and spun on her heels and began to walk away.

"Where are you going now?" He asked, his voice demanding.

"I'm gonna find food and water. We won't survive long without either of those." She stormed away from him, her feet uneasy in the soft sand. She never looked back once to see if he was even watching her as she left.

She trekked in the jungle for a long while, before getting to a small clearing. The tall grasses came up to her waist, and she ran her fingers along the tops of the blades of grass as she made her way across the clearing. She could hear the sound of the beach all around the island, and she thought she heard another water sound. She headed in the direction of the splashing, and soon found herself at a small cove with a waterfall falling into a pool of sparkling clear water.

She ran up to the edge, and dunked a hand in to taste the water. When the refreshing feel of fresh water ran down her throat she realized just how thirsty she really was. She must have drank a gallon of water before passing out on a flat rock near the water's edge. She placed a hand on her belly, remembering suddenly that it had been ripped in half to aid in Kaiba's idea of being helpful.

She suddenly felt hotter remember that his hands had been so close to her body. She frowned. What in the hell was she thinking? This was Seto Kaiba she was talking about! Even though he was devilishly handsome, he was still Kaiba.

Suddenly a shadow passed over her, blocking the warm sun. She opened her eyes and almost fell off the rock when she realized Kaiba was standing above her, looking down at her with an odd look on his face, one that she couldn't quite read.

"I thought you said water _and_ food." He replied, folding his arms disapprovingly.

"Jeeze. Give me a little longer. You know, you could look for some too. Food that is. I've done enough by finding the water!" She exclaimed, sitting up, and looking up at him. He grunted a reply and walked past her to the water's edge and cupped his hand to drink some water. For a moment, he almost looked innocent, cupping water like that. She was sure he was indeed very thirsty to have actually been caught drinking water like that.

She found his eyes over on her, and they narrowed. "What in the hell are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen someone drink water before?"

"Not like that, and especially you." She replied. He rolled his eyes as he stood again. She noticed his duel disc was still on his arm, and the cards were firmly locked into the holding slot. "Oh, are they all dry now? Did any of them damage?" She asked, pointing to his deck.

"No." He said simply, and left it at that. He stared at her, as if expecting her to do something.

"What is it?" She asked. "Now who's looking at who?" She said mockingly.

"I was just wondering how you were gonna catch us any food by just sitting there, basking in the sun." He said, and she frowned.

"Catch what and _with_ what?" She asked, and he halfsmiled, and reached in his pocket. He pulled out three blank dueling cards and held them up to the light. Tea noticed they didn't look like normal cards, and the shine they had when the light hit them told her they were not made of card material.

With a quick flick of the wrist, the cards were by her hand, actually making a dent in the stone. They must have been extremely sharp to do that. She pried one out of the rock and looked at it. "Those are very expensive, so try not to break them." He said before she could get mad about him almost slicing her fingers off.

She looked it over. How in the hell was this supposed to work? Did she just have to throw it really hard at something? She gingerly fingered the edge. It was indeed sharp. She traced it along the rock's surface, making a small indented line. She heard a sigh of impatience.

"You're supposed to throw it." He said as if she was a complete moron.

She sighed and held them up for him. "If you're the expert about these things, then why don't _you_ go catch something?"

"You already said you were going to find it for us." He said, and she twitched.

She stood up and pointed them at his face. He wasn't phased. "And what about you, mister too-busy-playing-with-my-cards, can't you do something constructive? Why don't you make a hut or something, somewhere we can sleep. Or maybe, make a fire, or maybe make a fishing pole and catch a fish, huh? How about that?!"

A small smirk danced over his face. "You're such an over-reacting little child." He sighed and snatched the blade-cards back from her hand and placing them back in his pocket. He spun on his heel, and began to walk away. She gritted her teeth. She reluctantly followed him back to the beach.

Then she saw that by the beach, Kaiba had already started a fire going, and also built a hut between a cluster of trees, complete with a leaf door. It looked really sturdy too. How in the hell? He even had several fishing lures by the ocean to catch fish. What the? She looked over at him, a cocky look on his face.

Oh, it was satisfaction enough to see the look on her face. Kaiba could hold back the confident smirk he was giving her, his eyes cruel and lingering. She was too easy to upset –it was almost funny to him. It almost seemed like he knew her better than he really should. Hell, she was always present whenever there was a duel with Yugi involved, and that was often enough. She was always spouting cheers of encouragement and yelling at others about their heartless, cold nature.

He watched as she inspected the hut after becoming flabbergasted, and not saying another word to him. She went inside and looked around, and then came back out and stared at the fire close to the hut. She then looked back to the fishing rods. She bent down to one of the rods and pulled on it slightly.

"I hope everything is satisfactory." He said sarcastically, and walked over to her and looked down at her. She stood up quickly and turned to him. Amazingly, she was smiling. This threw him off.

"Yes, of course. It's great!" She smiled sweetly and patted him on the chest. She saw the look on his face, and it was all worth it. He was thoroughly stunned, but he was trying to hide it by scowling. She knew him all too well –hell, it seemed like he was always in some way in their lives. Maybe not hers as much as Yugi's. But still, Yugi was her friend, and she was always there to help him, but that also meant whenever Yugi was dueling, Kaiba was always involved, so she had his actions and attitude on memory.

She was trying to mess with him. Kaiba couldn't believe it. Well, two could play at that game. And he strived to be the king of games, so this little challenge was almost enticing. Well, this could give him something to do while they were stuck here.

* * *

_A/N: Well, how is it? I like writing in here -so much fun. this is a fun story. i hope you all like it as much as i do. some fun starts next chapter -whee! i love it.... ahh..... don't mind me. review please!_


	3. What a Challenge

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

Chapter 3 – What a Challenge

By lunch time, she was definitely getting hungry, and Kaiba's fishing lures had yet to catch them anything. Kaiba was still fixing up the hut, making it more sturdy. As a perfectionist, being in a setting such as a deserted island, was not going well with his usual clean and sleek composure. Kaiba strapped on some sturdy vines around some leaves, tying a knot, and stepping away to observe his makeshift house. He was proud, even though it was only leaves and branches.

"Where'd you learn to do all this?" Tea asked, watching him as he stared at the hut.

"Do what?" He asked, over his shoulder at her.

"You know. Make a hut, make a fire, build fishing poles. That kind of stuff. I would think someone like you wouldn't know how to take care of themselves in this kind of way." She replied.

Somehow, whether he would admit it or not, her statement had hit him hard. He had to work hard and take care of himself all his life, who was she to discredit him like that? "You think I've been rich all my life? Well, you're wrong. I had to earn what I have today with blood, sweat, and determination. You have no right to think I can't take care of myself." He replied, turning fully around to stare at her accusingly.

"I didn't mean it like that, Kaiba." She sneered, and stood up and walked closer to him. He was on the way to having one of his ego-temper-tantrums, she knew it.

"Well, then what did you mean?"

"I meant..... you learn these things at boy scout camp or something..... I mean, how'd you know how to make a rope?" She asked, and pointed to the hut, where the rope held the leaves and branches together.

"Making braids isn't brain surgery. And I certainly know how to tie a knot. I don't need any sort of 'boy camp' to learn that." He replied, taking a menacing step towards her.

She wasn't going to back away. She stood her ground. "What about the fishing lures?" She asked, and he rolled his eyes.

"C'mon. It's a stick with a string on the end, and a weight and hook."

"Where'd you get all those supplies?" She asked, taking one more step closer. They were almost two feet apart now.

He was getting very annoyed. Did he have to explain everything to her? "I pulled the string from my boot's shoelace, the hooks are pieces of shell I easily carved to make sharp on one end. The weight is another shell."

"What about the fire?" She pointed. Surely he would admit he learned that in some sort of camp.

He sighed angrily, and pulled out a lighter. He clicked it on in front of her face. She frowned.

"Oh. Well...... I didn't know you smoked."

"I don't." He replied, and put the lighter back in his pocket.

"Then why the lighter?"

He half smiled, and leaned in close to her face. "Never know when I'll have to set something on fire." He said with a smoothly sexy voice that make her insides twirl in a circle.

She almost punched herself. This was Kaiba she was thinking about! Damn her body for going against what her mind was saying! He was just messing with her head, like typical Kaiba. But Tea Gardner wasn't the type to be toyed with. She may act like a ditz sometimes, but that was really all an act to attract attention from..... well, certain people. But she didn't need to attract attention from Kaiba! Screw him!

"Satisfied? Anymore annoying questions?" He asked, his smile gone, his face returned to it's normal state of being annoyed with a scowl. When she didn't answer, he took this as a yes, and leaned away from her, and went over to the fishing poles and tugged on one.

Tea huffed and looked down the beach. She saw a crab scurrying several yards away on the beach to the water. She took off in a sprint to catch it. Kaiba saw her run down the beach, as if chasing something, and watched her with a mis of emotions. She looked so ridiculous. What in the hell was she chasing? Then he saw the crab.

He had to bite his lip and hard to keep back a burst of laughter. What a fool she looked like at the moment! But somehow her erratic movements were interesting to watch. With her already short skirt and now exposed middrift –due to his bandage- she had a lot of skin showing. Her long, slender –but toned- legs danced on the uneven sand. Her body was bent over, her shirt flying up in the wind, and she had to tug it down with a small hand. Her hair was flying around her face, covering her eyes.

Even though Seto Kaiba was a self-centered capitalist multi-millionaire who could afford most anything, he was still a guy. And _even though_ he had it well hidden, his attraction to the opposite sex _was_ there. He was just able to keep it back due to its obvious distractions.

But what Kaiba didn't realize was that right now he was stranded on a deserted island, with only her as company, and he was indeed letting his mind think about –god forbid- girls and their distractions. He had no one except her; no little brother, no drivers, no servants, no employees or game technicians and designers. Hell, he didn't even have his house or his technology or anything.

All he had on him was a dead cell phone, his dueling deck and disc, throwing cards, and his jacket. That was it. Then again, it had only been a day. Surely Mokuba would find him soon, and he'd be the hell off this island, seeking his revenge. So until that time, all he had to do was occupy himself.

Tea made a scream of pain and started to make whining sounds. Kaiba squinted. What was her problem this time? What a moron! She had gone and let the stupid crab snap her finger, and now was holding on tight.

"Ow ow ow! Kaiba help me!" She exclaimed, and he rolled his eyes, not moving an inch. "Kaiba!" She yelled again, and he sighed, annoyed. She decided to run up towards him, and shake her hand in front of him, with the crab hanging off it. The claw was digging in and drawing blood. "Kaiba!"

He reached out and pried the crab from her grip and then grabbed a nearby piece of coral and slammed it down on the crab, incapacitating it. He then looked down at her as she stared at the cut on her finger.

"Stupid crab." She muttered, but before she knew it, Kaiba had a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, stunned to silence. What was he doing? Was he actually comforting her? His hand fisted on her shirt sleeve slightly. He was so close. And his firm hand was surprisingly warm as it brushed her skin slightly.

Then he yanked and tore the sleeve from her shirt, and quickly bandaged up her finger. Her mouth hung open in shock. Twice! Twice he had ripped her shirt! Twice she had let him! Twice she had felt something strange when he got close to her...... she shook her head, fisting her hand.

"Kaiba..... I'm gonna kill you!" She exclaimed, and began to strangle his neck. He was beginning to lose consciousness as she tightened her hold against his neck. He struggled for breath and flopped like a fish under her grip.

"What in the hell is wrong with you Gardner? You're spacing out." Kaiba asked, shaking Tea out of her small day dream.

Strangle him, yes that's what she wanted to do. "Oh nothing, I was just thinking of how greatful I am to have such a handy man with me...... stranded all alone on this deserted island. I'm just fine." She said in a sickly sweet voice, batting her eyes, and putting a hand on his arm, patting it. "You're _so_ good at bandaging. I'm gonna go get us some more water." She said, and stood up, walking away from him and back to the water hole she had found.

Kaiba twitched. Oh, she was good. He saw that she was terribly upset about him tearing more of her clothes off, but she only fisted her hand, and then patted him. Undoubtedly, she was running away to vent her anger. This strange game they were playing was amusing him to no end.

He smirked his usual cocky smile, and removed his jacket –because it was getting rather hot. He looked over at the crab under the rock, and smiled. At least she was good for something. She had caught their dinner.

---------------------------

Tea practically ran to the water hole, and collapsed on her large flat rock at the edge. She pounded the rock angrily. What a bastard! What..... A...... Bastard! He could be so arrogant! She was practically naked now from the waist up, and all because of him. She decided to remove the torn shirt and her skirt and take a quick dip in the cool fresh water.

She floated in the water for a while, trying to forget who she was stuck on this island with. She hadn't noticed the time, and before she knew it, the sun was setting, and the sky was getting dark. The gentle roar of the small waterfall almost lulled her into a deep sleep. Suddenly she heard something –an annoyed clearing of the throat.

She flung her eyes open. She straightened herself in the shallow water and looked over to see Kaiba staring down at her from the shore.

"I thought you said you were getting water, not _bathing_ in it. You do know we have to drink from there, don't you?" He asked, and she squinted.

If he thought he was hot stuff with his 'lighting fires' bullshit, then she could play this game too. She wasn't shy when it came to competition. If this was all a game to him..... well, she'd be his opponent, and she would win.

All she did was huff, and calmly walked out of the water, in only her underwear. She walked towards him, where her clothes were, running her hands through her hair, deliberately trying to sway her hips a little more. She saw it plainly on his face, even though he masked it by scowling –he always did that. He was nervous. She bet if she checked his pulse, his heart would be racing. She saw a single bead of sweat run down his perfectly chisled cheek.

Kaiba couldn't believe this girl! She was not only really trying to mess with him, she was practically throwing herself at him. but he was sure this was just another one of her attempts to mess with his head. Well, he had already agreed to indulge in this little sidequest 'game' of theirs that they were unspokenly playing.

But damn, he never knew she had a body like that. And she was being quite bold, walking close to him, and bending down to pick up her clothes. She slid on her torn shirt and skirt, right in front of him, her eyes landing on his as if to taunt him to say something more. But her expression changed when he finally did.

"You still forgot the water." He said plainly.

"Just how in the hell am I supposed to carry the water back?" She retorted angrily. She was a little pissed that Kaiba hadn't cracked. But this was Kaiba she was with, she couldn't expect any less that him giving his all when it came to competitiveness.

"You should have thought of that _before_ you said you were getting water. Or maybe you just wanted to get away from _me_." He said with a smirk –the Kaiba smirk that drove her insane!

"Not everything's about you Kaiba." She pushed past him, and ripped a large leaf from a nearby branch and went back to the water, and scooped up some water, folding the leaf to hold it. "There, I have the water. Did you catch anything?"

"Sure, I caught that crab."

She squinted. "The one who clawed me?! I caught that!"

"No you didn't." He replied, turning and walking back to the campsite, because it was already getting dark.

"Yes I did!"

"_You_ were attacked, _I_ caught the damn thing." He said over his shoulder as they walked back.

"Attacked?!"

"Yeah, with the way you were yelling and screaming my name, it sure sounded like you were being attacked." They got back to the beach before sundown, and Tea had somehow remained silent the rest of the way. She saw the crab that had bitten her on a stick, roasting over the fire. He could cook too.

"Wow. You really are a boyscout."

"Shut up Gardner before I have my attack crabs claw you to death." He replied and tore the crab in half and threw her one half.

She caught it, and fumbled. It was hot! Wait a minute, though..... did he just make a joke? She looked voer to him, but he was already eating, looking out into the empty, roaring ocean. She sighed as she began to eat. Where were the rescuers?

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_A/N: Wow! What's gonna happen next? Not even I know! Review a lot! And tell me anything you'd like to see in a deserted island fic! Im always open to ideas! Besides, this is just for sh and giggles, so, yeah!_


	4. All’s Fair in Love and War

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

Chapter 4 – All's Fair in Love and War

Mokuba and the others had made it back, due to Mokuba using the lifeboats' onboard communications system. They were rescued from the water. The last he saw of his brother was the Blue Eyes jet jetting away, the attack planes following close behind him. Mokuba knew Seto was trying to distract the fighter planes away from the rest of them, but the Blue Eyes jet never came back, and even now, back at the Kaiba Corp. building on the beachfront, Mokuba had not heard from Seto in almost two days.

The radar and hailing frequencies turned up only static and empty waters. Mokuba had sent off rescue helicopters to search for his brother, but so far they had turned up nothing. Even with the best technology, Mokuba still couldn't find him. And the coast guard said after 24 hours, it was almost hopeless to look anymore. But Mokuba ordered them to keep looking.

Mokuba sat in the large office of the Kaiba Corp. beachfront building, on the top story. It was so quiet in the empty office. Old scans and papers littered the large desk, and the computer was keeping contact with the coast guard. He was trying, he really was. Besides..... he couldn't go on without Seto..... Mokuba felt tears in his eyes. He could almost hear his brother scolding him for crying.

There was an email from the main headquarters telling him about something of the stocks. Even though Mokuba had tried desperately to so far keep it a secret, it seemed like the press was getting wind of the CEO disappearance, and the stocks for Kaiba Corp. were going down. Mokuba frowned. He had to fix this. He began typing away a memo to be sent to the stockholders.

He may have been young, but he was still a Kaiba! He typed furiously, and heard a buzz from the secretary from downstairs. His brow furrowed, and he hit the intercom key. "What is it?" He asked, not too happy about the interruption. There was a pause from the otherside of the speaker. Mokuba blinked. He sounded like Seto just then; a little too much like him. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, what do you need?" He asked again.

"Your friends are here to see you again." She said, and Mokuba nodded to himself.

"Let them up." He said, and stood from his chair. He was short, but he was also growing. He was sure he'd get as tall as Seto one day. The thought about maybe never seeing his brother again hurt his heart, and he felt tears again.

He went to a mirror in the side bathroom, and splashed his face with cold water. Then he dried it off, and pulled his hair back into a neat ponytail. He straightened his shirt and walked back out. He had to show that he could be as strong as his brother, even if it was in front of his friends. He couldn't let them see how upset he was, because that would only make them more upset about their own missing friend.

The door opened, and in walked a horde of teenagers. Mokuba knew them all. Yugi led the way, with Joey and Tristan following close behind him. Then there was Duke and Serenity had even come to see if there was any news of Tea and Kaiba. He was saddened at the reminder that Tea wasn't with them –they didn't seem whole without her. It was just like he felt about Seto.

They all looked hopeful, but Mokuba simply shook his head, giving each one an understanding glare. "Still nothing, I'm sorry, you guys." He said, and Serenity sniffled, and was patted on the shoulder by Tristan, before Duke could even think of it.

Joey would have gotten into protective-odler-brother mode, but thought about more important things. "I heard on da news that Kaiba Corp isn't doin' too well. I guess word travels fast around here."

"We didn't tell anyone." Duke replied, and Mokuba just nodded.

"I know you didn't. It was probably someone from the rescue teams." Mokuba replied, and sighed. He walked back to his desk, and sat down. "You guys can stay in the guest quarters here as long as you like, until we find them." Mokuba bit his lip, he had almost added 'if we find them'.

Yugi only nodded in reply. He was worried about Tea _and_ Kaiba. He looked at Mokuba as he sat in the chair at the large desk. He had his hair pulled back, and Yugi frowned slightly. He looked like his older brother Kaiba right then. Mokuba even had a furrow in his brow that reminded him a lot Kaiba's own perpetual frown.

It was quiet, and Mokuba held his necklace tightly with the picture of Seto on the back.

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Kaiba walked down the beach silently, the morning sun just barely poking its head up over the horizon. He thought of Mokuba. He hoped he was alright. But, he was Mokuba, he was his brother, he was probably more than alright. He sighed and put a hand against his chest where the picture of Mokuba was on a pendant that hung around his neck.

He had long ago ditched his large trenchcoat, and was now in his tight black shirt that he wore underneath. He had even opted to go barefoot, since his shoes were practically useless now. Tea was asleep still in the hut. He hadn't slept last night, not a wink. He went through his deck a few times by the light of the fire outside, but then gave up and looked at the stars the rest of the night until morning, leaving Tea in the hut by herself.

This was technically their third day on the island, and already, they had not heard or seen from anyone. He was beginning to get worried. He had to take his mind off the possible bad future of being stuck on the island forever. Maybe if they built a bigger fire on the tallest cliff someone would find them.

He marched back to the campsite, and flung open the 'door' to their hut, and cleared his throat at the sleeping Tea. She grumbled and opened her eyes. She awoke and looked up to see Kaiba standing there, with his hands on his hips. She frowned, and sat up.

"What is it?" She asked, groggily.

"We need to go make a signal." He replied simply, and turned and left out of the hut. She stood up, and brushed herself off, wincing at the cut on her arm. It was hurting a lot, and she could see that it was still seeping blood into the bandage. She ignored it, and went out to see what Kaiba was talking about.

"Where are we gonna make this signal, pray tell?" She asked, wiping sleep from her eyes. He pointed up at a tall cliff. She glared at him and squinted. "And with what, tell me, all-knowing boyscout."

He scoffed. "Why, with a fire of course, know-nothing cheerleader." He retorted, and saw her frown emmediately, but he didn't think it was about the remark. "What?"

"A fire. That means, we're gonna have to keep it lit 24 hours, right? That's a lot of time and effort, and a whole lot of firewood. We need it for our own fire. Let's think of something else." She replied, and Kaiba couldn't help but agree with her. That would mean going up and down the mountain every few hours to rekindle it.

"With what then?" He asked hotly, being a little perturbed by his idea being discarded.

She thought a moment, and then looked down the beach, and saw Kaiba's large and bright white coat hanging from a tree.

Kaiba frowned when she started to stare across the beach. What in the hell was she looking at? Was it another crab? He followed her gaze, and then saw she was staring at his coat. Oh, hell no! But before he could protest verbally, she was running down the beach towards it. He growled and sprinted off after her.

Tea almost got to the tree before she was tackled to the sand. She struggled to get up, but was grabbed by the ankle and forced back down. She spun and kicked sand at her attacker, who of course was Kaiba himself trying to stop her from touching one of his favorite and most expensive coats.

He spit out some sand, and gripped harder on her leg, pulling her towards him. She squirmed as he pinned her down with his hands on her flailing arms, and his legs trapping hers. She was now under his body, heaving in exasperated huffs. She looked up into Kaiba's furious eyes. He was so close, she could almost hear his heartbeat, roaring as fast as hers –matching the pace of even the waves against the shore.

"Let me go!" She exclaimed under him, trying to struggle free, but getting nowhere.

"You are not touching my coat, Gardner!" He replied back, and saw the rebel in her eyes.

"It's perfect though, big and bright! And it's not something we need to maintain, like a stupid fire!" She explained angrily, struggling again, able to kick him in the side with her knee. He groaned, and his grip loosened a little, and she tried to peel out from under him.

But he held tight, and they just ended up rolling a few times, sand getting all over their clothes. "I'll say it again, you're not touching my coat! Do you have any idea how expensive it is?" He spat, still managing to trap her under him.

"It's already ruined! Not like you're gonna wear it ever again in public anyway, it's got a tear in it!" She exclaimed, and he frowned.

He made a frustrated grunt. That wasn't the point. The point was, she was trying to use _his_ clothing as a means of something as degrading as a damn flag. True, they needed a signal, but not his coat! "There's still no way you're using it like that!"

"Then have you got a better idea, genius?" She asked back, and huffed loudly.

He was silent, but his hands still held her down. If she wasn't so angry with him, and if he wasn't Kaiba, then she would have liked the physical contact; it was almost like they were rough-housing. But no, this was Kaiba, and he was only touching her to keep her from getting his coat. She suddenly saw a smirk crawl on his face. And evil one.

"Oh, I've got an _idea_." He said, and reached with one hand and grabbed the end of her shirt, and began to tug up. She screamed, and used her free hand to try and stop his other hand. Maybe he was just playing, but she didn't like it! "This shirt is bright too, we'll use this." He said and tried to tug again, but she growled, and fought his hand with hers.

"Kaiba! Don't you even _dare_.... _ah_!" She screamed again as he got it almost up to her bra.

"It's not anything I haven't seen before anyway." He replied, that smirk still etched on his now sweating face, his bangs hanging over his eyes. He looked really sexy close up, with his face slightly flustered and his eyes intense and focusing only on her. But she didn't let that distract her.

"Kaiba, _no_!" She pushed his hand back down, but he was indeed strong. She had to do something! Knowing Kaiba and his 'bandaging practices' using the rest of her shirt as the flag was probably a good idea in his head.

She thought back to grade school, what was the first thing she did in a fight? She bit, of course. She was a biter! She couldn't reach his hands or arms. His head was the closest thing to hers. She squinted, then reached her head up and bit him on the edge of his ear. She held on, as she felt his hands stop in mid tug. That had done it!

Kaiba hadn't expected the biting thing.... and he hadn't expected the sudden strange feeling in his gut. She wasn't biting too hard, just enough to make him feel a little in pain. He was stunned, and he swallowed hard, fighting the strange feeling that was now turning into fluttering in his lower abdomen. It almost felt like someone was burning his inner intestines, and then running ice along the wound. It was very uncomfortable.

They must have stayed like that for a while, but all Tea knew was that Kaiba, even though he hadn't had a bath, smelled really good. And being so close to him was making her lose her train of thought. Why had she bit him again? What was the reason? She finally let go, and her head pulled back and rested on the sand. She looked up at his face. He had the strangest expression. It was almost like he was confused, angry, and in pain –all at the same time. It was very odd.

"Wh-" He began, "What _in the hell_?" Was all he got out, but it sounded very upset.

For once in her life, she had heard Seto Kaiba stutter. She was almost proud of the small feat, but regretted it, as she saw that whatever confusion might have been in his face, was now gone and was fully on anger. He pushed off her and stood. She leaned up on her elbows.

"Are you really so childish that you'd actually _bite_ me?" He exclaimed, fuming with anger.

She stood, and brushed the sand off. "You're the one who was being childish, over something as stupid as a lousy jacket that you can't even use anymore!" She spun and continued to head towards his hanging jacket. Not wanting a repeat of what just happened, Kaiba let her yank it from the branch and fling it over her arm to carry. "You know it's the best idea for this 'signal' thing you want to do. Let's just stop arguing and go up there and put it up!"

He didn't say another word, and began to walk towards the high cliff, pushing past her, as he walked faster. She sighed as she watched him march ahead, obviously sulking over how she actually had a better idea than him. She then winced suddenly. That wound was really hurting, and all the thrashing around the arm was doing before was now coming back to send hot bursts of pain through her entire arm and shoulder. She switched arms that was carrying the coat to the one that was fine, except for the crab bite.

He heard her made a noise of pain behind him. He frowned, but kept walking.

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They made it up after almost an hour or hiking, and tied his jacket tightly to a long thin tree that had been knocked over in an earlier storm. Tea dug a hole in the ground with a large shell and some rocks, and then they held it up with rocks and boulders. It was impressive, they both had to admit –although they did it in their heads. They hadn't spoken since the beach, except for a few orders here and there when they made the pole and was mounting it.

Tea collapsed on the ground, exhausted. It was now afternoon, and she was tired and hungry. Kaiba was staring out from the cliff into the horizon and the ocean. He seemed to be thinking something intently, but she didn't care. All she knew was a throbbing pain running through her arm from the wound she had gotten. She didn't know it, but she made a sound of pain.

Kaiba turned his head slightly and stared at her. He saw her grip her arm and close her eyes tightly. He turned and walked over to her and looked down at her. She suddenly felt the shadow and flung her head up to see Kaiba staring down at her. "What is it now?" She asked.

"Let me see." He replied, and bent down next to her, and grabbed her arm a little roughly in his hands, and began to peel back the bandage. It looked bad. He wasn't a doctor, but he knew it was getting infected. He had read enough books to make him knowledgeable in at least the field of basic medical treatment. He needed to cauterize it before it got any worse.

He wouldn't have her get sick on him. That would be even worse hearing her complain all the time; or worse yet, she could actually die, and then he'd have her death on his mind. And he couldn't have that.

"Get up." He demanded, and she yanked her arm away.

"What is the problem?" She asked, frowning up at him.

"Get up now, we need to fix that." He replied, and grabbed her good arm and pulled her up to stand. "If we don't fix it now, it's going to get really infected." He said seriously, and began to pull her back down the cliff to the campsite below.

She was silent as he dragged her down towards the camp on the beach. He seemed like he was actually concerned about her. She shook her head. This was Kaiba! The same maniac who was constantly ripping her shirt, and even fighting with her about his stupid coat! When they got back to the camp site, she was really sore, and Kaiba pushed her to the ground next to the dwindling fire.

He added to it to make it big again, and then sat down in front of her. He took off his duel disc, and set it down. This itself surprised her the most. He then grabbed ahold of the part that latched to the arm and broke it off. Her jaw dropped. What was he doing? He got a thick stick, and attached the metal piece of the armband to the end with the makeshift string he had made before.

Tea watched him make the contraption. What was he doing? How would that help? But she concentrated on his determined features more than what he was doing. He seemed so serious as he worked. And he was so handy, a true boyscout, even though he said he had never been one. Well, he was a genius, and he seemed to solve problems quickly, so what did she expect –anything less than for him to be proficient in even the worst conditions.

He sighed. It was ready. He set the metal end in the fire and let it sit there, waiting for it to get hot enough. He looked over at Tea, who was staring at him oddly, with a confused look on her face. She obviously didn't know what he was about to do..... or did she. She suddenly tried to jump up and run, but he grabbed her shoulders and forced her back into her sitting position.

"Kaiba! No, you are _not_ going to cauterize it!" She exclaimed, realizing just what he had meant by 'fix it'. "It's fine, you don't need to do that!"

"It's not fine!" He yelled back, and pulled off the bandage and she looked down at it. It did indeed look pretty bad, and it hurt a lot. She blinked a few times, and gulped. He was right. Maybe he did need to 'fix it'. She closed her eyes, and didn't move again. Seeing her cooperation, he released her shoulders and sat back, checking on the metal. It was ready.

He gripped the other end of the stick and pulled it from the fire, and scooted closer to her. She was staring at the stick, and he noticed she was trembling. Her tortured look turned even worse as he came closer, and placed a hand on her opposite shoulder to keep her from jerking. She closed her eyes, and reached out and grabbed his shirt in her other hand. She gripped it in a shaking, frightened hand.

He paused only an instant to look down at her hand as it gripped tighter against his chest, her fingers intertwined in the thin fabric. And then placed the hot metal against her wound, searing it closed, and she let out a painful scream, involuntarily trying to jerk away from the pain. His arm kept her in place, and she made a painful moan, and then passed out as he pulled the metal away.

She had fallen against his chest, in his arms. He looked down at her unconscious form, and let out the breath he had been holding in. He had to rebandage it now, and clean it with fresh water. He set her down to lay by the fire. He then got up to get fresh water. And then he had to find something to bandage it with. He couldn't help but smirk; he knew just the thing.

* * *

_A/N: Well, well, well. I finally updated, didn't I?! Wow, this was a long chapter –I didn't mean it to be, but it was. If any of you had a problem with the whole cauterize thing being slapped in, yeah, I agree –but I only put it in to add extra drama.... oh well. Okay, it might be a while before I update, cause school is hectic! Anyway, review please! No flames!_


	5. The Storm

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

Chapter 5 – The Storm

Tea didn't awake until the next day, feeling disoriented. She saw the sun bright above her, signifying it was noon time. she had really slept a long time; but the sleep was restless. She was having crazy dreams about waking up and she wouldn't have any clothes on or anything. She looked up into a dark, cloudy sky. Her arm hurt, but it didn't throb like it did before. She reached over and touched it, and felt a firm bandage over the wound. Her dream!

She shot up from her laying position, and touched her torso frantically. Thank god! Her shirt was still on, tattered up like it had been when she passed out. Then what was the bandage made out of? She looked down at it, and noticed a familiar pattern mixed with black fabric. Wait a minute..... her eyes flew towards her legs.

He had done it again!

He had torn about two inches off her skirt, and now it was shorter than ever! Her eye ticked. But then again, that couldn't have been enough.

She looked up to see Kaiba staring at her from the other side of the fire. The bottom part of his sleeves were torn off as well. That was the black fabric with her skirt fabric.

Even though she was angry with him for making her apparel even more revealing and low cut, she was also grateful he had used his own clothing this time. She looked at his steadfast gaze, and suddenly he cleared his throat.

She rolled her eyes and looked out into the ocean, not able to stand his penetrating blue gaze.

He cleared his throat again, louder this time.

She gritted her teeth. "I suppose you want a thankyou." She stole a glance over at him to see him still staring at her, his eyes suddenly squinted.

"I help you, and all I get is sarcasm. Did I really expect anything else other than that from you?" He sneered, and saw he open her mouth to further their little squabble. He saw her hesitate. Then hesitate again. She finally turned back around and stared back into the ocean.

"Thanks." She said, so low, it almost sounded like the surf against the rocks.

He bit back another sly comment, and just huffed quietly to himself. He made a grunt of acknowledgement, and then looked out into the ocean too. A gust of wind blew at them and made the dying fire crackle.

Kaiba frowned. The wind was really picking up now. He stared out across the ocean to see the horizon become slowly darker in the morning light. There were a lot of clouds in the distance. There were several flashes in the distance, and he frowned harder.

Lightning. He counted. A deep rumbling reached both their ears, and he heard Tea make a strange noise.

He glanced over to see her already standing to her feet. "That doesn't look good." She said, and he silently agreed. It was within a few miles, and the wind was bringing it towards them. This wasn't good at all.

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Mokuba looked out the window. The horizon was ridden with clouds. He was still in the office of the Kaiba Corp building on the beachfront. He frowned. The weather reports all said something of a tropical storm building up in the ocean. A lot of the search parties were returning. He didn't like this, but he also didn't want to endanger them.

"Sir." Came a voice from behind him, and he turned to see that it was the search party leader, whom he had let come up when his secretary buzzed him. "Sir, almost all the parties are back in, and are settling up at the docks." He replied, but there was something in his voice that made Mokuba's insides squirm.

"Tell me, what are the chances..... that....." He left it hanging, but the other man knew what he was talking about.

"Even if they had survived a crash and were on the water's surface, this storm would definitely capsize whatever they were waiting on." He said with an air of uncertainty.

"Are there any islands out there, that maybe they could have washed up on?"

"There are islands out there, but most are small, and uncharted. You guys were out in the middle of the ocean anyway, far away from the mainland, and even with the direction you said they went, that's still _a lot_ of ocean to search." He reported, a little scared at the reaction of the small child. Would he burst into tears? Would he fire him?

Mokuba saw the fear in the man's eyes, and sighed –more to himself than anyone else. "Make sure all the people get in alright, and we'll continue the search when the storm has past. Report back to me everyday....." the man was confused at this statement. "I'll be heading back to Domino as soon as the storm passes as well."

"I see." Was all he said before he left the dark room.

Mokuba heard the door shut, as he continued to look out the windows. "Oh, Seto.... I really wish you are okay."

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The wind was now getting harsher, and the hut didn't look like it was going to stand up to the wind's large gusts. And plus the surf was getting larger, the waves reaching close to the camp site. Tea was getting worried as it began to rain and thunder harder. Kaiba grabbed his deck from the dueling disc and put them into his pants pocket before turning to her.

Why did he look so calm? She felt like shaking him and exclaiming that he needed to show some kind of emotion other than the normal scowl. He grabbed her by her good arm, and began to drag her away.

"Where are we going?!"

"Just come on." He replied and they half-ran in the direction Kaiba was taking them.

When they reached the waterhole, Tea was confused. It was raining, and he wanted a drink? What was he thinking? Then he got into the water, and began to walk towards the waterfall. She frowned.

When he was at the front, he stopped and looked into the waterfall for a minute, then he plunged right through! She gasped. Where'd he go?

He slowly climbed into the water too and waded over to where he had disappeared. She went up to the waterfall and tried to see him. "Kaiba! Kaiba, where'd you go?!" She screamed, but heard nothing. "Kai-" she was cut off as two hands thrust out of the waterfall and grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her through.

She was flung heavily against something warm and soft. She looked up, her eyes stinging from the water, and saw Kaiba staring down at her, drenched in water himself. He was staring down at her silently, that blank expression on his face. But even as he stared at her like a tall, warm statue, his arms still held shoulders.

Some water from his bangs dripped down on her face and tore her from her unwanted daydream of being so close to him, his arms tightly gripping hers.

She pushed away from him, and then saw that they were in a small cave under the waterfall. She saw ahead, and the cave raised up so there was a small patch of slate that was above the water level. She saw Kaiba wading his way over there, and then hop up on the slate and then sit.

He stared over at her like she was an idiot for just standing there.

She waded over as well and crawled up on the platform and sat a few feet from him. The roar of the waterfall was loud in her ears, and the impact of the waterfall hitting the pool was splashing small sprays of water over the entire cave. She heard more thunder and saw bright flashes of lightning from behind the waterfall.

Kaiba was pissed. He hated this island; and he disliked his company on this island. He looked over at her to she was shivering, rubbing her legs, which were folded against her chest. He wouldn't admit it, but he was cold too.

She rubbed harder against her legs. He remembered using his metal throwing cards to cut the fabric for her bandage. He was a gentleman, so he didn't sneek a peak, but his knuckles had brushed across her thighs, and they were soft and warm. He looked away from her.

He had never been so close to a girl before in that manner. And ever since then, all his mind could recently think about was how soft they were; and for once he wasn't thinking about duel monsters or his company..... and Kaiba didn't like that. His mind should only think about duel monsters, his company, and also beating that damn Yugi! But no..... his mind was being an adolescent idiot and thinking about..... _girls_.

He hated that! He didn't want distractions! That was the main reason he had stayed away from them in the first place, or any other thought of romantic relations. He knew he could have just about any woman in the city, heck in a hundred mile radius, but he never wanted to deal with that.

He suddenly thought about how she had bit his ear yesterday; and the strange things it made him feel. Why was he thinking of that?! She was being a total psychopath yesterday.... biting him. How childish.

"What are you sulking about now?" She asked, and he frowned and shot her an annoyed look.

"I'm not sulking. What in your tiny brain made you think I was sulking?" He threw back, and she swiped some wet hair from her face angrily.

"I don't know. You always seem like you're sulking, or like you're mad at the world or something."

He scoffed, and shook his head in agrivation. "You're delirious. That wound made you lose so much blood, your brain isn't working right, not that there was much brain to work anyway."

"Is that all you can ever do? Insult people?"

"Most every _needs_ to be insulted." He retorted, and then he heard her scuffling towards him. He spun his head to see she was getting really close to him. "What in the hell are you doing? You aren't going to bite me again are you?"

"Shut up, I'm just cold is all." She growled and then went behind him, and leaned her back against his. They were now sitting back to back in the cave. She felt him tense up, and he leaned back to look at what she was doing. She finally felt him turn back around while exhaling a large, annoyed huff.

He had to admit he was cold too, and the body warmth felt good, and it almost felt like he was sitting in a chair. He took in a deep breath, then released it. Great. Were they just supposed to sit here all afternoon and evening, together? He was not looking forward to that. Already they were arguing, but he couldn't help that –she was the one starting it all. He almost smacked himself. He felt childish right then too.

They sat in silence the rest of the afternoon, lost in their own thoughts. As the evening dragged on, and the storm still raging around them, they began to drift into sleep, their backs resting against one another.

-------------------------------------------

_A/N: sorry this is so short, but that's only because the next chapter is really long (b/c we'll finally be at the day we first saw in chapter 1! Yay!) and that day is full of very fun stuff! Very fun! Just wait a little while longer for it though, because I need to update my fruba fic now….. and that's a long and complicated thing…… x.x….. okay, review please!_


	6. The Beginnings

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

Chapter 6 – The Beginnings

Tea awoke, resting against something warm. She rubbed her head against the warm object, and sighed and then yawned. Something else rubbed up against her head, and she frowned, trying to open her tired eyes.

When she finally opened her eyes, she saw a blank wall.

Then she turned her head a little to see that she was back to back with someone, her head against their shoulder. The shoulder moved slightly, and the owner breathed out slightly and grunted, obviously still asleep. Oh yeah, she had cozied up to Kaiba yesterday to keep warm.

The roar of the waterfall had been soothing and she had almost completely blocked it out, but now it was loud against her ears. She was still, knowing that Kaiba was still asleep, as he wasn't saying anything, and the weight against her back from his was now overpowering. He must have been a heavy sleeper, was all she could guess as he pushed back a little, involuntarily stretching.

But when he did that she was thrown forward, his weight too heavy for her. Her head was thrust to her knees, and she groaned, and tried to squirm out from under him. But he only stretched again, and this time she was able to halfway get out, but was caught by his torso against her back.

She was now laying belly down on the cold, wet slate, with Kaiba using her as a pillow. Great.

He turned in his sleep and wrapped his arms around her, and she froze. He was holding her so tight she thought her lungs would explode. He nestled his head up by her neck and exhaled softly, another small grunt escaped his throat.

She had every intention of screaming at him... in just a moment. Maybe a few more minutes...

Kaiba hadn't gotten much sleep the last few days, and even in the cold, loud shelter, he couldn't fight back his sleepy eyes. He was in a deep sleep for a long while, where he didn't dream at all. He began to stir when his pillow began to move. He grabbed it and held it tighter, huddling into the warmness. He wanted to sleep just a little more.

But wait a minute. He shouldn't have a pillow. His eyes flew open and he shot up into a sitting position, and looked down to see a panting Tea, on her stomach.

"Thank god you woke up, I thought I was gonna die from not being able to breath." She said, sitting up as well she rubbed her neck, and looked over at him.

He was scowling in his own little way, but he also seemed confused.

"Why didn't you just yell or scream like you usually do?" He demanded, obviously a bit cranky. Then his eyebrow quirked up. "Oh I get it, you just like the way my body felt against yours, admit it." He said in a smooth voice, and she squinted.

She hated it when he acted so full of himself (forget the fact that she _was_ enjoying it)! "No, Kaiba, I simply couldn't utter a word let alone a scream under your enormous head!" She exclaimed.

She couldn't handle Kaiba and his little games this early in the morning!

She crawled and then hopped into the water, walking back to the waterfall's face. "Let's look at the damage." She replied and went through the water.

Kaiba followed, still smirking to himself. Oh, she was setting herself up; she was making this too easy. Now that their little 'crisis' was over, if you even call a storm a crisis, he was going to go back to their little 'game'. He so enjoyed making her nervous.

When they got back to the campsite, the beachfront was a total war zone. The fire pit was almost completely gone, and there was a lot of leaves and branches all over the place. The hut looked somewhat still intact though, as Tea walked in to inspect.

Kaiba was picking up a stray fishing lure when he heard a blood-curtling scream.

Before he could react, Tea was scrambling up his body, shivering and screaming in short gasps. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and his arms involuntarily held her up off the ground, bridal style.

"What in the hell is wrong with you _now_?" He growled, and she pointed back towards the hut, and he leaned over and looked to see several snakes, obviously startled by Tea, slither out and away. They had probably used the hut as a temporary shelter from the storm; and that idiot Tea had just walked in and must have been surrounded by them.

He gave out an almost evil cackle at the very thought of the image he had missed.

She suddenly realized she was in the arms of Seto Kaiba; practically acting as helpless as she could imagine. But no matter what her body felt like doing, her mind was stronger, and she hit him in the shoulder with her fist. "Stop laughing at me, it wasn't funny! Now put me down!"

He smirked again, "You're the one who rushed into my arms like a desperate damsel in distress." He let out another maniacal laugh.

Ooh, she hated that laugh. She struggled some more. "Let me go!"

"I think you like it, why else would you have jumped on me?"

"You're such an ego-maniacal freak, Kaiba, put me down!"

"Why should I?" He asked, and she was a bit puzzled at his teasing. "Admit it, Gardner, you just couldn't resist the feel of my body, could you?"

She squirmed in his tight hold, but his arms were locked under her knees and around her torso.

She frowned, but refusing defeat, argued on, "Oh yeah, I couldn't resist you," she replied sarcastically. "Aren't you supposed to be a big, confident man? You should be used to girls throwing themselves at you. I bet you're just in denial; I bet you like holding me."

"So you're admitting you threw yourself at me?" He asked, that cocky smile still on his face.

"Quit dodging my statement." She snapped back.

"I'm not dodging anything, if anyone's dodging, it's you." And with that he suddenly released his arms, and she fell into the sand with a dull thud.

She had screamed on the way down, but now that she _was_ down, she was feeling more angry than hurt.

She pushed herself up, staring up at him, jabbing a finger. "Oooh... God knows I hate you! Why do you have to be such an ass-hole all the time! Can't you get it through your little brain that we're stuck on an island together! We have to get along some time or another, because for all we know, we could be stuck here forever!"

His smirk disappeared. "We're not going to be stuck here forever. If I have to swim to get away from you, I will. Besides, Mokuba will find us any day now, so if I were you, I'd start thinking of an apology to give me so that I'll _allow_ you to be rescued with me."

"Mokuba obviously hasn't found us yet, and what gives you any indication he ever will? It's been four days, and we haven't even seen a ship or a plane or anything! They could be under attack by whoever was attacking us in the first place." She spat, slowly becoming aware that she was going a little too far this time.

"He'll find us. He would never stop looking for me." Kaiba replied, frowning so hard it was giving him a headache.

"The way you treat everyone, Kaiba, it's a wonder why Mokuba puts up with you. Maybe he'll just forget about you and for once have a normal life without you to ruine it for him -by making him into a horrible, self-centered, uncaring bastard like youself. He probably wishes you were really dead!"

As soon as she said it, she knew for certain she had gone too far. It was one thing to insult Seto Kaiba, it was another to insult his only living family left. She slapped a hand to her mouth and her eyes went wide.

It took all he had not to slap her across the face or shake some sense into her. He squinted and then growled, "don't you _ever_ talk about Mokuba and I as if you know _anything about us_, because you _don't_!"

He opted to just walk away from her right then, cold and silent. He had to get away from her. She was pushing him to the edge; and he really couldn't bring himself to hit a woman, even if she was an ignorant, ungrateful, and annoying ditzy cheerleader called Tea Gardner.

-

Mokuba sighed as he settled back into the headquarters of Kaiba Corp in Domino, now sitting in Seto's seat in his large office. He had just finished a conference with the stockholders, and was soon going to give a speech to the television networks and tell everyone Seto's disappearance officially, even though the news had already reported it.

He didn't like being in charge, but he refused to see all that Seto built and struggled over fall to pieces. He knew most of the inner workings of the company anyway, being by Seto's side most of the time. True, he hadn't really had the experience, but he had seen and heard Seto do it over and over again, that all he had to do was search his memory and lock into those words and numbers.

He had told Yugi and the others that they were welcome to stay as long as they wished at the beachfront lodgings, but they said they would return to Domino themselves at the end of the seventh day they had gone missing, which was only three days away anyway.

Mokuba hated leaving after so short a time, but he needed to be here, for the company in Seto's absence. And besides, his research computers were here, so he could find out exactly who was trying to kill them before. So far all he had was eyewitnesses of what the planes looked like. He remembered them vividly in his mind as well, and was determined to find out who they were and what their purpose was.

For now, Kaiba Corp was on high alert and mostly on lockdown in case they tried to kill him too.

-

Tea couldn't believe she had actually said that. It was one thing to go about their usual insults and arguments, but it was another to insult him about Mokuba. She knew that Kaiba cared for his younger brother; he was probably the only person on the entire planet Kaiba actually cared for. And she had gone and said something like that. She felt bad about it.

She sulked around some more on the beach and restacked some firewood, but without Kaiba's lighter, it was hopeless. Her stomach growled, and she gripped it, feeling the pain of her intestines. Maybe if she drank a lot of water it would help dull the feeling. She began to walk towards the waterhole.

-

Kaiba sulked around for most of the day, traveling through the forrest, and walking just about the entire perimeter of the entire island. He grumbled and thought about how much he hated that woman he was stuck with. But her initial words were sticking more than the ones about Mokuba.

"_Can't you get it through your little brain that we're stuck on an island together! We have to get along some time or another, because for all we know, we could be stuck here forever!"_ She had said to him.

He growled. He hated the thought of being stuck with her forever. He couldn't even stand her for less than a week, let alone contemplating forever -or even a month for that matter. He climbed up a steep incline to get back up the small mountain to where the grassy plain before the waterfall was.

He was too concerned with thoughts of the annoying girl he was stuck with, that he didn't even notice that he was about to trip over a fallen branch. His foot caught under it, and he fell forward, but then his feet gave way and he rolled down the muddy hill, to land in a large, nasty puddle at the base.

He sat in the puddle a moment, feeling utterly disgusting, when he felt something crawl on his arms. He bolted out of the water, instinctively batting at the feeling, and noticed he had landed in an anthill that was being drowned by the puddle. Small ants floated around, struggling to get to land, and had latched themselves all over him.

They were now biting. He had to get them off! He ran back up the hill to where the waterhole was.

-this will seem familiar...-

After drinking a lot of water, Tea sat at the edge of the waterhole. She tapped her foot in the water's edge. She was tired, she was hurt, and she was upset... and, she was still hungry. She flopped back on the rock she was sitting on, her foot dangling in the water. She was at the water hole while she thought. He was bound to come back sooner or later. This was the only fresh water source they had. She hoped he would come back soon. It would be getting dark soon.

Oh god, was she worrying about him now? She huffed loudly, blowing her bangs off her face. If it was one thing being stuck on an island with him, it was another that she was beginning to get attached and perhaps used to his very presence by now.

Why was he so upset? Oh yeah, she insulted his family and his entire ego-maniacal, self centered, crummy attitude. Well, it wasn't like he had said anything nice to her, though. They had gotten into a fight, the biggest of many they had already had for the past few days.

This was a complete nightmare.

And when were they going to be found? Surely someone as important as him would have thousands of people looking for him. Then again, maybe the people who were after him in the first place were making sure no one found where he had disappeared to. For all anyone knew, they were both dead.

The sky was getting darker by the minute. Maybe she would go back to the hut... then again, that brought back a bad memory from this morning. Ooh, she hated snakes. There was no way she was going back there without him. It wasn't like he was any help this morning, though. She growled again at herself. Where was he already? He must have gotten thirsty. She pulled her feet out of the water, and sat Indian style on the rock, watching the small waterfall in the distance.

Then she saw a figure come from behind a row of trees. It was him. Even from far away, she could hear him cursing and mumbling something, as he literally ripped off his shirt and discarded his pants, and jumped into the cool water. Tea almost felt her jaw drop ten feet. Never once during their few days here had he taken off his clothes with her in the vicinity. Maybe he didn't see her. She confirmed this as she watched him scrub his head, still cursing. She lay down on her belly to watch him with a little more stealth.

He was definitely still angry. He dunked his head in the water briefly, before pulling back out. Tea literally died; it was like slow motion suddenly. His chin and neck were stretched backwards, his shoulder blades perfectly square and set, his chest toned and flat, his hair was even dripping water down all those wonderful features. She gulped... even she had to admit that he was hot! She suddenly forgot that he was a total jerk, and realized that he was an extremely perfect specimen of the ideal male body. She bit her lip.

He seemed to sense someone, and scanned the perimeter, and his eyes fell on hers in the distance, and he stared at her for a moment with something strange in his eyes. Then his brow furrowed into the perpetual frown she was all too used to by now. She almost hit herself in the head; this looked really awkward.

"What are you staring at?" He asked defiantly, and ran a hand through his damp hair. He looked almost completely different all of a sudden, his hair dark and sticking in every direction and the way his eyes were out in the open, not hidden behind those bangs.

"N-nothing, I was just sitting here, until you came out and started stripping." She said defensively, suddenly noticing that she had stuttered. She did not want to start another argument, though, and she sighed to herself, and then slid on the rock and hopped into the water too. She dunked her head once and then waded over to him, reluctantly though, because she was about to do something she never thought she'd do: "I'm sorry Kaiba, for talking about Mokuba and you like that. I know it's not like that. You both love each other a lot, and I know he would never stop looking for you. I'm sorry."

He figured she was swimming out to maybe slap him or argue some more, maybe even tease him, but he was not expecting an apology. He couldn't help but let his jaw drop open for a second before he could fully comprehend the situation.

He let out a sigh finally, trying to think of something sarcastic to say, but to his surprise none of them seemed appropriate for the situation.

Then he saw Tea frown, and walk a little closer to him, the water gently rippling from her moving body. She reached up and placed her hand close to his cheek, and he felt her fingers dance across the side of his face.

Her hands were cool and wet from the water, and yet they were blazing fire across his skin. He was mesmerized for a brief moment at the unknown and contradictory feelings he was now experiencing.

She half smiled before pulling back to show she had plucked three stray black ants from the side of his face. He looked down at them, and suddenly remembered he had actually fallen into a destroyed ant's nest, and that there were still some on him.

He couldn't say anything as she reached out again to pluck more off his forehead, then his shoulder, then his collarbone. As before, her cold fingers felt hot against his bare skin, and he felt a strange twisting in his stomach. He was hungry, but this wasn't a hungry kind of feeling. This was almost a sick kind of feeling, but at the same time it made him tingle all over.

He watched her face distort as she tried to find all the ants and get them off. She bit her bottom lip in frustration, and he suddenly thought about what those lips would feel like. That feeling in his stomach tightened, and he felt his jaw muscle flex.

Before she could react, and before his rational sense took over, he grabbed both of her hands, yanked her closer, and bent down to swoop her mouth into a hungry kiss. He had never actually done it before, but he figured he got it right because –after a few seconds of surprise- she began to kiss him back, her soft lips gentle and hesitant against his.

His hands slid up from her wrists to rest on her shoulders and pull her closer, as he deepened the kiss. She tasted really good, like some delicacy he had never had or was too unsure to try. His rational sense was fleeting, being washed away by the newly-appreciated feelings this girl's lips were sparking within him.

* * *

_A/N: Well, I wasn't really planning for them to go that far, but I felt it was perfect for the moment, so I went ahead and did it –besides a lot of you were patient enough to wait through five chapters just for something to happen, and I got a lot of people wanting to see it (even though personally I thought it was too soon). Well anyway, not all is well on this island, though, and be prepared for next chapter, cause it probably wont be a happy one... I was sad, I didn't get as many reviews as I did last time…. where'd you all go?_


	7. Mistakes Are Always Made

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

Chapter 7 – Mistakes Are Always Made

Tea hadn't expected the kiss, but the moment his lips landed on hers, the world became surreal. One of his hands swiftly reached up and gripped her neck to pull her head closer to deepen the kiss.

His lips were full of passion, and it was making her head dizzy. His lips were soft yet demanding; a contradictory combination that made her own mouth yield obediently to his. God, where did Kaiba learn to kiss like this? she barely formed the question fully in her mind when his tongue brushed against her lips, sending her insides twirling and her thoughts muddled. She barely noticed that neither one of them were taking a breath.

She put her hands on his bare chest to push him away, but for some reason they just weren't strong enough. Then she considered slapping him maybe... maybe in a minute... wait, she was going to pass out any second though, and it seemed like he had no intention of stopping. Did he practice holding his breath in his spare time?

There was a slight gust of wind, and something fell out of a near-by tree. It smacked right into the two, covering their heads. The surprise made Kaiba grunt inside her mouth and he heard her yelp in his own. He pulled away, but it was dark for some reason, and they just stood there, frozen.

Something was over their heads, something heavy and tarplike. He panted uneasily, his hands still on Tea's shoulder and neck. She was gasping for breath and trying to see what was on them. He could feel her hot breath against his neck and he felt his whole body shiver slightly in the aftermath.

Finally, Kaiba reached up and pulled away the object, and he saw what it was: his jacket they had hung up on the cliff to get attention. It must have blown off in the storm and landed in a tree. He thought about it for only a moment before he was physically pushed back, and he almost stumbled in the shallow water.

He looked over at Tea, who was shivering and still trying to catch her breath. "Wh... what... in the hell... was _that_!" She managed to get out.

"My jacket." He replied and saw her face contort strangely.

"No! No no no! Kaiba, you're supposed to be a genius, I'm talking about _that_!" She raised her arms as if pointing to an invisible platter between them.

There was a pause, as if he was about to deny everything, but then scowled slightly. "I believe we kissed." He said simply, his tone staying steady.

"We? There was no 'we'! _You_ kissed _me_!" She pointed at him.

"You didn't seem to care who started it. I believe you were kissing me back." He said in a calm voice that made her feel like she was in a corporate meeting or something.

"But why! Why'd you kiss me in the _first place_?" She exclaimed, her heart pounding; Kaiba being the source of it all, good and bad. Her emotions were high and her body was numb and shaking.

"I shouldn't have to explain my reasons to _you_."

"Wh-what? Wha... 'shouldn't have to'? I-I..." She was having trouble forming sentences now. "K-Kaiba... you... you... I, you, I, you stupid, eccentric, confusing, maniacal _bastard_!" She spun and got out of the water as quickly as possible.

Kaiba let her go. He had to be alone anyhow. Why in the world _did_ he kiss her? He was a bit confused himself. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and he was sure he had a good reason for it... he just couldn't remember what it was.

Suddenly she came storming back to the water's edge, and looked down at him expectantly angry.

He just stared right back at her. "I thought you were through calling me names." He stated, and she scoffed, and folded her arms.

"Just come back to the camp with me. There might be... snakes." She whispered the last part quietly. He smirked, and waded to the edge she was nearest, and hoisted himself up out of the water, standing before her, very wet and half naked –dressed only in his soaked boxers.

She got a flash of when he was kissing her as he got out of the water. A tingling on her lips made her bite them, and a twisting in her stomach made her grip her belly nervously. As much as she felt like she needed to just be _away_ from him at the moment, she was not going back there without him. She hated Kaiba, but she hated snakes more.

As much as he was trying to freak her out again with his games, he couldn't help but feel funny the minute he saw her bite her bottom lip. He had the urge to suddenly kiss her again, but this time he mentally slapped himself and reminded himself that this was _Gardner_ he was thinking about! Annoying, cheerleader Gardner who was always hanging off of Yugi and spouting unneeded support –the same brat that _bit_ him just because she was losing... the same girl who tasted like an exotic dessert; new and invigorating on his senses –No! Stop that!

"Whatever." He replied and pushed past her, his bare shoulder touching her good one. She made a noise that he barely heard or really cared about at the moment. He grabbed his clothes and then draped them over his shoulder to walk back to the campsite in his boxers as he dried off in the night air.

She watched him walk in front of her, and her eyes couldn't help but fall on his boxer shorts and the outline of his backside. As he walked the muscles of his back stretched and contorted from their perfect positions and proportions.

"Couldn't you at least put on your pants or something?" She asked, annoyed, from behind him as they made their way back.

"What, don't you like the view?" He asked over his shoulder, a confident smirk on his lips.

"Well... I mean –shut up Kaiba!" She exclaimed and walked faster so that they walked side by side now. They reached the site and it was now dark. She pointed to the fire pit and he set down his clothes and lit the fire with his lighter.

Soon the fire was big and warm. She sat down besides it, still refusing to go in the hut. Kaiba took his usual seat on the other side after he got dressed again. He looked over at her to see her yawning.

He was tired too. He began to close his eyes, but then heard some movement, and his eyes opened to see Tea standing and walking over to him. Before he could say something sarcastic she was behind him, and leaning her back against his as they had the night before.

He relaxed emmediately, which made him frown and his mind begin to race. Why had he kissed her? he asked himself again. It was almost as if his body was going against his very will, and that was not settling well for him. He was always in control –of everything, whether it be his body or his company.

"It was a mistake." He said softer than he intended, his voice echoing against her ears.

"Fine." She answered back, her voice annoyed but also tired. Was she disappointed that he considered it a mistake or relieved? Either way would make her equally confused and hurt, so she opted to just leave it alone. She closed her eyes and slept.

They both awoke in the morning about the same time, both of their stomach's growling, causing them to wince. They both stood, a little groggy and faced eachother, as if the other had an idea of where to get some food.

"How about you try going in the hut again." He suggested, and found himself smirking.

"I wouldn't eat a snake even if you did manage to catch one." She retorted.

"Who said_ I_ was catching one, here." He tossed her one of his throwing cards. She fumbled it and it fell into the sand. He rolled his eyes. "Do you even know how to use it?"

"Of course I do!" She exclaimed, and fingered it in her hands as she picked it back up. "It's just like darts." She aimed it at a tree and got ready to throw it. She leaned her head back slightly to make sure he was watching.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. Oh, this was going to amusing. She had no idea how to use them and he knew it. He folded his arms, waiting for her throw.

She leaned her arm back and tossed the metal card as hard as she could at the trunk of a palm tree. It bounced off and fell back in the sand pitifully. She just stared at it for a moment. Then she heard laughing. She spun to see Kaiba almost falling to his knees in laughter.

"Kaiba! Quit it! It wasn't funny!" She exclaimed, and saw him as he finally did fall to his knees. She couldn't help but smirk herself. It did look pretty foolish. She covered her mouth, trying to mask her own laughter. "Stop laughing... Kaiba," her voice trembled as the giggling gurgled in her throat, "it wasn't that fun-nyhehehe...hahaha!" Then she burst out laughing herself.

She fell down in front of him, laughing her head off, that is until it hurt her stomach more than it already did, and she keeled over with a thud into the sand with a sharp pain from hunger and laughing. She focused her eyes ahead of her to see that Kaiba had done almost the same thing, and now they were staring at eachother on their sides, laying in pain on the sandy beach.

"We need to find some food. We haven't eaten in two days." She replied pitifully, her stomach making a loud noise as if to enhance her statement.

"For once I agree with you." He replied in a deep voice that almost sounded concerned.

She stared into his dark blue eyes from the sand and found she was lost within them. She couldn't help but again remember last night and how he had just spontaneously kissed her. she still had yet to figure that out, except for the fact that he considered it a mistake, and had said nothing more on it since then.

But she had more important things to think of at the moment other than Kaiba and his amazing mouth and eyes and body and hands... more _important_ things like food! Yeah, food; before they both died from hunger.

She sat back up and brushed sand from her arm and neck. Kaiba sat up as well, and only then did she realize how close they were. He had some sand on his face that he missed. She absently –without really thinking- reached over and brushed it from his cheek.

Then she noticed what she was doing. Again.

What in the hell? she asked herself. She was doing what she had done yesterday, and that had ended quite... well, oddly. She pulled her hand back and looked away from his penetrating and slightly bewildered glare. He was staring at her, but she couldn't bear to look him in the eyes.

She stood up and walked to the tree and picked up the card she had thrown. She heard Kaiba behind her finally get to his feet as well. He walked over to a tree where he had hung his jacket. He grabbed it. "Well, before we get any food, let's hang this back up." He said, and she turned to looked at him.

"What, no arguing and tackling this time?" She asked, a little more playful than she intended. But she found that being around Kaiba for long periods of time was causing her otherwise sound mind to become muddled.

A smirk tugged on his lips. "I know you sooo wanted me to do that, too. I'm sorry to disappoint." He said sarcasticly. "I'm just happy I won't get _bit_ again." He added in angrily, but he was being playful.

He scowled. When had he began to get playful? It had only been less than a week and already he had _kissed_ her! Forget the playfulness, he was actually finding _Tea Gardner _attractive. And that made him shudder. The hunger must have been making him crazy. Yeah, that was a good explaination. Hunger was making him want to hold her and kiss her without any thought of consequences.

He shook his head and began marching up the hill with his jacket in hand. They got to the top and found their pole again and put the 'flag' back up. Kaiba stared at it for a moment forlornly. His expensive jacket was being used as a flag... and with _his_ _own_ consent and assistance as well. That made him groan and rub his temple.

Tea walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down into the shimmering blue water. It was beautiful from above; blue and aqua mixed with a deep green of the seaweed bed. She leaned out further because she thought she saw a school of fish swim between the seaweed.

"What are you doing?" Kaiba asked behind her, but it startled her, and she jumped slightly and spun to face him and tell him off for scaring her, but her footing slid, and she stumbled backwards.

She grabbed at air as she fell and hit the water with a loud splash.

Kaiba nearly choked. It all happened so fast. That stupid clumsy girl! He ran to the edge of the cliff and looked down to see if she was alright. The white foam from the water circled around a splashing Tea. She was screaming, and trying to swim too.

Tea couldn't believe it! She was going to kill him! "I'm going to kill you! Arhhhh!" Scaring her so much he made her fall off a cliff! "Ahh, I'm going to kill him!" Now she was soaking wet in nasty sea water, with Kaiba looking down at her from the cliff. "Damn you!" She waded for a while, seeing the beacha little ways away.

Then Kaiba saw a shadow swimming towards her. He knew that outline. It was a shark!

"Get out of the water!" He exclaimed down the cliff, but she just splashed there, as if she didn't hear him. "There's a _shark_, dammit!" He cupped his hands over his mouth. "Get out now!" But when he saw she didn't notice or hear him, he turned from the edge and took a few steps back. Then he ran and jumped off the cliff.

She heard Kaiba yelling something from above, and she looked up at him. He was still yelling something, but she couldn't make it out. And then he disappeared. Before she could get too upset that he had just walked away, he appeared again, but he was leaping off the cliff!

_

* * *

_

A/N: hmmm, sorry for the shortness and the cliffhanger (literally-lol) that was bad of me! but, I must go update my fruba fic now... just be happy that I finally updated. And ok, it wasn't all too sad –but to me it was sad that they are both in denial. Oh well... maybe some fluffiness next chapter. (only two people thought the kiss was too soon –wow, I'm amazed, I thought it'd be more, oh well.) okay, well, I'll be back! Review please!


	8. In The Mouth of Madness

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

Chapter 8 - In The Mouth of Madness

There was a massive splash next to Tea as Kaiba plunged into the water. He didn't surface for several seconds. When he did, he spun around trying to find her. When his eyes finally landed on her he began to swim frantically towards her.

"K-Kaiba! What in the hell are you doing!" She exclaimed.

When he reached her he grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly towards him, and began shoving them both to shore. "Shut up and swim, there's a shark!"

"Shark!" She yelped and didn't hesitate another minute.

They were still a far way from shore, since the cliff protruded out over the ocean. They swam, but Tea screamed when she felt something brush against her leg. She thrashed, and Kaiba feared the worst. He could see the top fin of the shark cutting through the water around her.

He ducked under the water to try and find the shark. His eyes stung from the salt, but he was able to make out a dark blob next to the white splashes from Tea. He swam towards the object and used all the force he had to kick it. There was more thrashing, and the water splashed around them.

Tea was disoriented as to what had happened with all the splashing, but regained her senses when she felt Kaiba tug on her arm again. They continued on towards the shore, unsure if the shark was following them or not. One of them could be pulled under and eaten any second.

They finally reached the beach, their bodies shaking from adrenaline. In the shallow and swaying surf, they lay in the knee length water, their hearts racing. Kaiba was on his knees, the water to his waist, as was Tea, right next to him.

His hand still lay protectively on her arm. She panted for a minute, neither of them saying another word. She turned to Kaiba, who was staring at her, his eyes dark and yet still strong.

Kaiba finally broke the silence. "Gardner, you clumsy idiot, you could have been-" he was cut off.

Tea had thrown her arms around his neck and was hugging him tightly.

He just knelt there, shocked. He could feel her trembling against his chest, and she was sniffling. Was she crying? She gripped him tighter, and he suddenly reacted and wrapped his arms around her as well. It felt strange, and yet... right.

Her fears were washed away in his arms for some reason. She was quiet, and he was holding her back. His strong arms around her back and his hands resting against her shivering body. He had saved her. She didn't know why she felt she needed to hug him, she just did. It was perfect... until...

"OW!" Tea exclaimed and pushed away from Kaiba and spun and lifted up her foot from the water. A crab had clamped onto her big toe and wasn't about to let go. "It hurts! Get it off! Ow ow ow ow ow!" She began to hop around in circles, in pain.

Kaiba started to laugh and held his head in his hand.

"Shut up Kaiba! Help me! Ow ow ow!"

He then half-heartedly grabbed for her flailing arms and legs. She was almost to shore before he was able to catch her around the waist and reached down to remove the crab. He held it by its shell so it was unable to snip at him. His other hand was still wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly to him -unaware he was doing so.

"You make good bait, you know." He said, and she made an annoyed sound as she stared down at her throbbing foot. She looked over at the crab in Kaiba's hand and stuck her tongue out.

"Yeah, right." She retorted.

"Lets see, crabs, sharks, snakes... I could use you just about anywhere and catch something. Sounds like a good strategy." He gave a light chuckle, and then he realized just how close he was holding her to him. He could literally feel the heat sparking where his bare flesh touched hers.

He looked down at her. She was staring up at him already.

He then reluctantly pushed back from her. "God, I need a bath."

Her face turned into shock. "What in the hell is that supposed to mean! I'm dirty or something?"

"No, from the salt water and sand, that's what." He rolled his eyes and finished their trip back to shore, with the wriggling crab still in his hand. She followed behind him.

* * *

He left for the waterhole first, after he had set up the fire a little more and started to cook the crab, which he had impaled on a stick and stuck over the flames. When he returned, he saw that Tea was staring at the food hungrily, her mouth literally watering.

"I'm surprised you didn't just eat it and leave me nothing." He said and sat down and took the stick from the fire.

She grunted angrily. "What, you don't trust me?"

"Trust you? Around food? Ha."

"If I wasn't so hungry, I'd argue with you, Kaiba." She said and licked her lips as he cracked it in two.

He raised an eyebrow. "Now I know you've gone crazy, if you won't even do the one thing you seem to enjoy the most." He handed her one half, and she began to eat it hungrily. He looked down at his and began to eat as well.

* * *

It had happened so fast. Mokuba was barely able to fully understand what happened. All he did know was that the mansion was under attack! The automated defense systems installed destroyed the fighters, but not before they did considerable damage to the place.

Mokuba reached the safe room in the basement with Roland and some other bodyguards until the raid was over.

"Who w-were those guys?" Mokuba asked, unable to mask the fear shaking his voice.

Roland sighed. "I don't know sir, but the designs the computer here recorded seem to tell us they were the same as the ones that attacked you out at sea." He replied, looking over the specs in the computer in front of him.

"They probably wanted us both dead. For some reason, someone's trying to take Kaiba Corp down." Mokuba said and pondered to himself for a minute. "That's not going to happen though. They may have taken Seto from me, but I won't let his –our- company be taken as well!" Mokuba replied, his voice determined.

Roland looked over at him, surprised at his young master. The demeanor just didn't suit the otherwise cheerful and innocent child before him. he was becoming more and more like a true Kaiba –more and more like his older brother. Roland didn't know whether to be scared or... proud.

"Roland." Mokuba barked, and he snapped to attention.

"Yes sir?"

"I want to activate the security system Seto kept hidden for emergencies just like this." Mokuba replied.

Seto never talked about it much, but he had said to Mokuba that if anything were to ever happen to him, that there was a safety program installed equipped with the right 'equipment' to handle something like this.

At the time Seto had first showed it to him, he thought nothing of it. In fact, he said in his mind 'nothing will ever happen to Seto, so I have nothing to worry about' . Boy, was that wrong and naïve.

Mokuba felt his heart ache at the absence of his brother. He had to be strong.

"But sir..." Roland began, but then Mokuba stared at him with those dark blue eyes that matched his older brother's almost exactly. "Right sir."

"I'm a Kaiba after all..." Mokuba began, "... I should be able to know how to handle them."

"Right sir." Roland echoed. "I'll begin to unlock and reboot the Kaiba Corp defensive _and_ offensive systems. Weapons and satellite systems can be up in a few hours, with your activation code, sir."

"Of course." Mokuba held his picture of Seto that hung around his neck.

* * *

Kaiba rest against the sandy beach as night time approached once again. It had been a day since the shark incident, and the... hug incident. He was still unsure about that one. He had managed to kill one of those snakes with his metal cards and they had cooked and eaten that.

Tea was reluctant to eat it, but her hunger was getting the better of her. She had her energy back with the food they had eaten. She was down near the beach, her feet tapping the water. She was practicing her dance moves.

Kaiba watched her from a distance. Not that he thought she was stunning and eye-catching in the glowing sunset –no- she was just the only thing to occupy his mind. She was like television. Boring yet sometimes entertaining television.

Tea pranced and chased the water back and forth, practicing her dance moves choppily. The night air was cool and salty.

She was now in the shortest skirt imaginable, and a school shirt that was now exposing her belly and her arms, since it had become a no-sleeved shirt in the process of their stay on the island. She had long ago discarded her shoes, and didn't care where they lie.

She spun and hopped, moving her arms. She twirled her feet against the soft, wet sand. Her foot caught a shell and she stumbled.

Kaiba had tensed up when he saw her almost fall. What in the hell was wrong with him? When did he begin to feel protective? And for _her_ of all people. Hell, he had jumped _off a cliff_ for her! He must really be losing his mind.

It made him think of the kiss again. That fiery kiss that left a permanent impression on his lips. He remembered their hug after he had saved her from the shark. The warm feeling of her body; his arms supporting her.

He rubbed his temple. What the hell indeed.

* * *

It was a week before Mokuba heard from the others again. They had returned to Domino, since school was starting back up again. They had heard about the attacks and were over at the mansion, a third missing of course still.

Joey whistled. "They sure did a numba on dis place, whoever _they_ were." He was elbowed in the side.

"Don't be rude, Joey." Serenity whispered.

Mokuba nodded. "We'll catch them though. We were attacked again the other day, but our defensives blew them out of the sky. We looked at the wreckage. Oddly enough, there are no human occupants. They're all total machine. I wonder who could be wanting to destroy Kaiba Corp so badly."

Yugi looked over at the younger Kaiba. "We've seen plenty of people try to ruine Kaiba Corp in the past. And I hate to say it, but Kaiba has made more enemies than friends." Yugi said, and saw Mokuba tilt his head, his eyes looking away.

Duke sighed, trying to break the temporary silence. "I never knew Kaiba Corp still had weapons and stuff. I mean, I know they made them, I just wasn't aware Kaiba actually kept them. I thought he didn't want anything to do with the old Kaiba Corp and focus solely on duel monsters." Duke replied.

"Seto didn't believe in our step-father's business, but that doesn't mean he wasn't still worried. He told me he was going to leave a backup system just in case Gozaboro's own enemies decided to take down the rest of the company and family later on." Mokuba explained.

"What does the government think of all this use of weapons other than their own?" Yugi asked.

"The government has dealt with Gozaboro himself. Plus, we're keeping this local. The minute our fight hits the city itself, then we won't be allowed to operate any more. Besides, we got enough ties –people as well as financial- in the government that they probably won't protest for quite a while." Mokuba said and the others nodded.

"I get it." Tristan added in from the back as they walked to the still intact living room.

There was a pause as they finally made it in the room. Mokuba looked them over carefully one by one before finally making eye contact with Yugi. "You guys haven't heard anything new either, have you?" he asked solemnly. Somehow, Mokuba knew there was no news; he'd be the first to know, but he just felt he had to ask the question anyway.

Yugi shook his head, his eyes sad. He walked close to Mokuba and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know they're alive, Mokuba. They're both fighters. Too stubborn to die." He said, and Mokuba forced a weak and tired smile.

* * *

"Why don't _you_ go get the water, you lazy jerk!" Tea exclaimed, and Kaiba got a little pissed off and threw down a block of wood into the pile.

"I'm trying to build a fire here. I don't have time for your childish complaints." He retorted and marched past her to find another fallen tree limb.

The past week had been hell. She had become more pissed off at him as the days went on. Maybe it was because he was avoiding her and barely speaking a word to her other than barks of annoyance, like the one he had just said.

The only times he seemed somewhat approachable was at night, when they slept back to back. And even then, he would always tell her to stop talking because he was trying to sleep. It was not good either that Tea was having mood swings and other 'girl problems'. Kaiba was not aware of it, either, and she wasn't about to tell him.

Tea spun on her heal and marched towards the waterhole. That jerk! He just didn't want her there, that was all he really wanted. She understood him well enough by now to know when she wasn't wanted. Hell, Kaiba never seemed to want her around any time!

Kaiba was glad when she finally left. Geeze, all she was doing for the past few days was bitch at him. She was definitely being very annoyed with him. But then at night, when he was trying to sleep, she would suddenly try to talk nice to him. What was wrong with her? were these mood swings?

Kaiba nearly dropped the piece of wood that was in his hand.

She was a girl. They had been here almost two weeks. According to the medical books, girls her age, every month, had a...

He almost gagged. Oh... dear... god... she had to obviously wash sometime and in something... like the waterhole! And he had been drinking from there! He began to cough uncontrollably and ran to the ocean's edge.

He didn't care if it was salt water, he had to do something! He washed his mouth out in the disgusting, salty water. He spit it out quickly and then coughed some more. He wasn't feeling too well at the moment.

He felt dizzy, and he had a headache. He lifted himself from the water and headed back towards the firepit he was trying to build up. He barely made an effort to pile more wood, before he sat down in the sand, an annoyed and disgusted look on his face.

That girl... was going... to drive him... _insane_!

* * *

Tea finished filling the makeshift water holder made of leaves and began to make her way back. Kaiba was definitely being very jerkish lately. And to make matters worse, she was not in the best of moods either, due to obvious reasons. During the past few days she had been keeping orderly with the help of some ingenious resourcefulness on her part.

She was calming back down when she approached the campsite again. Kaiba had his back to her, and was facing the beginning fire. She set down the water next to him, but he just sat there. He looked over at it for a moment as she sat down. He turned away.

She frowned. "I thought you were thirsty. That was the whole reason we had the argument, Kaiba, don't you remember?"

He remembered, but now that he knew about the contaminated water, he wasn't about to touch it. The very sight of the leaf bowl was making him nauseous. He tried to avoid eye contact with her or anything to do with her.

"Well, fine! That's fine!" Tea huffed and grabbed the bowl and downed the whole thing.

Kaiba's eyes couldn't help but widen. He turned away to stare at the fire again. Would she really drink it if she knew what was in there? Maybe she didn't bathe from the water hole. Maybe. But then again, he wasn't sure and he wasn't about to ask her.

She wiped her mouth and threw down the bowl and sat down on the sandy beach as the sun set. He was quiet for the rest of the evening, and laid down on his back to fall asleep. Tea frowned. Usually they slept back to back. Well, maybe tonight he was just being stubborn. She huffed to herself and then laid down as well, propped her head up with her arms and fell asleep.

* * *

She awoke the next morning groggy and a little disoriented. She sat up in the dim morning light and looked over at Kaiba, who still seemed asleep. He mumbled something and then twitched a little. Then she noticed he was sweating a lot.

She got on her knees and crept closer to him. He twitched again and made a noise in his throat, and ground his teeth. She frowned. He was sweating more than he really should be, and his face looked like he was in pain. She reached out and touched his forehead.

It was very hot! He was sick! The stubborn bastard was sick!

_

* * *

A/N: well? Finally huh? Well, it's been hectic here with midterms and all. But I finally got around to updating! Yay! Since it took so long, I made this chapter extra long. did you like it? okay, the whole 'red tide' thing was a little strange, but hey, i had to get a way to make Kaiba not drink anything and then get sick... so, bear with me. Please please please review! nice ones though. Okay, byeeeeeeeee._


	9. Sickness

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

* * *

Chapter 9 – Sickness

Mokuba had just finished his press statement. It was hard trying to calm both the public, the news, and the stockholders that he had everything under control, even in his brother's absence. They all seemed so angry.

He leaned back into the leather seat of the limo. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes as the car began to make its way back to Kaiba Corp. It was quiet.

It was so quiet.

He opened his eyes and looked over at the other seat in front of him. He suddenly noticed that he had sat in his usual spot, leaving the very back seat empty, where a normal passenger would sit. His eyes got sad. That was where Seto usually sat... that's why he didn't sit there. It was just instinct.

He stared out the tinted window and to the streets and buildings of Domino.

Too quiet.

He missed the sound of typing keys from his brother's fingers against a laptop. He even missed that certain cologne he wore. The smell lingered like a ghost in the limo.

This was hard for him, but he kept telling himself he had to be strong; he had to show Seto, even if it was in death, that he was capable and willing to continue their legacy. If it even meant he had to learn and master duel monsters and beat Yugi so a Kaiba would be the King of Games, then he would.

He rubbed his temple and sighed again.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Joey let out a loud huff and sat back into the couch at Yugi's place. They had just watched the press conference on the news with Mokuba ebing grilled about the recent attacks. Yugi sat in the chair next to the couch, lost in his own thoughts. Tristan was in the back, leaning against the back of the couch, along with Duke and Mai.

"I can understand da city bein' a little mad about all the missiles an all, but this is just a kid, fer cryin out loud." Joey said and folded his arms. "It would be one thing if it was _Kaiba_ up there, but Mokuba... he's just a kid." He muttered again.

Serenity bowed her head. She was sitting next to Joey on the couch in front of the TV. She wiped a single tear from her eye. "He lost his brother, and all they can do is blame him." Serenity said and a long silence wavered in the air. "If I ever lost Joey, I'd probably..." she trailed off, and leaned into Joey's shoulder.

Yugi was the one to break the silence. "They aren't dead, Serenity. They aren't. I know it." He replied.

"How do you know!" Serenity exploded. She sniffled. "I'm sorry, Yugi." She said immediately before anyone else said anything.

Joey stood, and held Serenity by the arm in a protective sort of way. "We'd better go. See ya, Yuge." Joey replied and they walked out of the room. Tristan and Mai followed silently behind; especially Mai, since she was their ride home.

Duke looked over at Yugi. They were now alone. "Everyone's taking this pretty roughly, aren't they?" Duke asked solemly.

Yugi just nodded. "I don't think we realized it, but I think Tea somehow held us all together. The gods know she was always there to whip us back into shape if we ever felt down about ourselves or eachother. She even would scold Kaiba if he showed it." Yugi remembered the past. "And Mokuba... without Kaiba around, everyone thinks the backbone of Kaiba Corp. is gone. This is a lot of responsibility that has been thrown at him. It's not like he asked for it, and yet he takes it on... just like his brother."

Duke nodded. "I think that both of their presences are being missed. And the fact that Kaiba Corp. is under attack -literally, is another problem." Duke rubbed his neck. "I'm gonna go for a little while, Yugi. I won't be here in Domino."

"What? Where are you going Duke?" Yugi asked.

"I'm going to see if I can find out who's doing this to Kaiba Corp."

Yugi frowned. Duke could almost read his mind.

"I don't know why, Yugi, I just have to. You guys are going back into school, Kaiba and Tea are both still missing, Mokuba's trying to run an entire company... Serenity's sad... I just have to do _something_." He replied and grabbed his jacket and began to head out the door.

"Wait, Duke!" Yugi said and ran to a side table and reached into a drawer.

Duke turned and caught the object Yugi had thrown at him. Duke looked down into his hand to see a golden dice piece. It was marked elegantly and the 1 was in the shape of an eye, much like the Egyptian eye that was on Yugi's millennium puzzle.

"We were gonna give this to you on your birthday." Yugi said, and Duke frowned. His birthday wasn't for another few weeks. Now it was Yugi's turn to read Duke's mind. "If you're going to be away, then I thought you'd need it a bit early... to bring you luck."

Duke smiled and nodded. "Thanks Yugi. Say bye to the gang for me." He said and gripped the dice in his hand and left Yugi's place to head towards his new motorcycle. He got on and then slipped the golden dice into his vest's pocket. He revved the engine and took off towards the outskirts of the town.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Kaiba awoke to a truly shocking sight. Tea was leaning over him, obviously trying to reach for something over his head, and he was practically face to face with her scantily-clad chest. His head throbbed and his whole body ached. He didn't have time to be forced to 'oggle' Tea's perfectly proportioned, revealing chest.

He tried to sit up, and the movement scared her enough to jerk back in surprise and then accidentally spill water all over him. He cursed and tried to stand up, but he only got to his elbows before he was forced back down by Tea's surprisingly strong arms.

"You stupid idiot! Why'd you have to do that, now you made me spill your water!" She growled, but he pushed up against her hands and sat up finally. She watched him as he swayed a little as he sat up fully.

For some reason, he felt groggy and out of place. "Why the hell are you getting me water, why would I want water from _you_?" he hissed, but even as he did, his head felt light and he gripped his head with one hand. But in doing so, his body lost support with the ground and he fell back into the sand.

Now the world really was spinning. He couldn't help but close his eyes to try and fight the dizziness.

"I was trying to cool you down. You're running a fever." She replied and sighed as she dusted off the wet piece of shirt she was using as a washcloth. Good thing she had hefted two sacks of water. "Now, don't move Kaiba, I'm leaning over you again." She said and he made a small grunt and she leaned over and grabbed the other sack and dipped the cloth in.

She rung it out slightly and patted his forehead with it again.

He had to admit, the cool water cloth felt nice. He did indeed feel hot, but he blamed it on the account he was sitting so close to the fire. Well, it _felt_ like he was near the fire. _Was_ he near the fire?

He forced his eyes open and he saw a darkening sky. Wait. The last thing he remembered it was still night time. Had he been asleep a whole day? He turned his head and saw they were a little ways away from the fire. He scowled, and the fabric began to slide off his head.

Tea caught it before it hit the sand again and dipped it in the water again. His head went back to its normal position, but it turned slightly to look at her. He frowned. What in the... the fabric she was using...

His eyes focused enough for him to recognize the dark fabric. He again, propped himself up on his elbows and looked down. She had ripped a few inches from the bottom of his shirt. No his dark shirt was just barely showing his navel.

He sat up fully, ignoring the slightly dizzying effect it gave him.

She froze upon feeling the piercing gaze he was obviously giving her. Uhoh. He figured out what the fabric was. She tried to hide a self-satisfied smirk. "Two can play at that game, Kaiba. Besides, my clothes are already ripped to shreds, thanks to you."

He made a noise. Was it a growl? She didn't dare look him in the eyes.

"It's bad enough you used my coat, and now you use my shirt without my permission-"

She finally faced him and looked into his blue eyes. "Excuse me! Who's the one who practically ripped off half my clothes for their own greedy purposes!"

"Greedy isn't the word, because I only used your clothes to help you." He sneered. His head was getting dizzy again, but he didn't care. He never backed down from an argument.

"Yeah, so I was using your clothes to help you, so I wasn't being greedy either! I was merely trying to help you, you stubborn, sick jerk!"

"I'm not sick, so stop treating me like I'm dying!" He said angrily and pushed aside the water and cloth roughly. "I don't need your sympathy! I never get sick!" he exclaimed, a little harsher than his usual degrading tone was. His headache was coming back, and he was feeling even more dizzy by the second; and he felt so hot for some reason. He blamed it on his temper going crazy because of this stupid girl.

"Y-you..." She stammered and tried to grab his shoulders to push him back down, determined to get him to rest, but he resisted and grabbed onto her wrists and pushed her to the side and pinned her down under himself.

She struggled slightly, but then noticed he was panting heavily and blinking a lot. Sweat dripped down his cheek and forehead. He really was sick, and he was over-exerting himself.

He was dizzy again, and his face felt like it was burning up. He could hardly tell what was going on. Was he pinning Gardner down? Were they even on the ground? He felt like he was in the air it seemed. Really hot air it was too. Why was he so hot?

His grip tightened against her wrists so that he could somehow keep his bearings straight. But her hands were so cold. They felt so good against his hot skin. Barely conscious he was doing it, his hands slid down her wrists and down her smooth, cool arms; then they went back up to find her cold hands and lead them to his face to rub the coolness over his heated skin.

Tea was frozen as Kaiba used her hands against his face. What in the hell was he doing! One minute he was yelling at her, the next he was _rubbing_ against her. The poor bastard definitely was sick if he didn't even realize what he was doing. He must have been delusional at the moment.

He then ran his forehead down her slender arm and rested against her collarbone and shoulder.

Tea shuddered. _Gross_. He was all sweaty and sick... ugh... and now...

He began to breathe heavily, and -was he snoring?

Great. The rich and famous Seto Kaiba was now passed out on top of her. Great. She must be the luckiest girl in the _world_! She grit her teeth together and rolled her eyes.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Serentiy was up early in the morning, unable to sleep all night. She worried about Kaiba and Tea a lot, but for some reason she kept thinking about Mokuba and that press conference. The press had been so brutal with the questions and allegations. They even referenced Kaiba as being deceased.

But Mokuba seemed perfectly calm about everything.

She looked out her window from her bed at the dawn of Domino. The reddish orange glow was disappearing as a storm rumbled in.

She understood better than the others what it was like to be separated from their brother. She had missed Joey everyday, every minute, and every second until they were reunited.

She wiped a tear from her face. Mokuba had to be hurting. He was obviously hiding his pain. Hiding pain was never good. It only ate away at one's insides; she knew that. And what made it worse for Mokuba was that he was alone... no family at all or even friends, other than them.

Her heart felt for the guy. She wanted to give him a hug.

Serenity reached to her nightstand and picked up her cell phone and dialed Mai's number.

A long string or rings, and then: "H-hello?" came a groggy voice.

"Mai. It's Serenity." She whispered.

"Serenity? What are you doing calling me this early? Is something wrong? Is Joey alright?" Mai asked frantically, and Serenity felt a little twinge of happiness that Mai showed interest in her brother's well being. But she had other thigns to accomplish.

"Everythings fine. I need a ride, Mai. Can you help me?"

"S-sure sweetie. Just give me a few minutes, okay?" Mai hung up.

Serenity smiled. Mai was such a good friend. Maybe one day she'd marry Joey, and they'd become sisters. She got out of bed and began to get dressed. She was determined and fully awake.

She was going to Kaiba Corp. and she was going to give Mokuba that hug!

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The next morning, Kaiba was still passed out on the sandy beach, breathing heavily. She had managed to worm her way out the night before, and now she was sitting by the fire, away from him, but close enough to check his temperature with her hand.

He was still hot, and he was breathing rapidly. She was beginning to get really worried.

She glanced over the ocean but then froze.

Was that...?

Was that a...?

It was a boat!

* * *

_A/N: sorry about yet another cliffhanger! I'm really bad about that, huh? Sorry it took so long to update. I'll try to update sooner this next time. don't be too fooled into thinking this is nearing the end, because I have a lot planned for this couple and this island, so just stick around! Sorry to the people who don't like mokuba/serenity pairings... personally I think it's cute! Plus, anyway, it won't be too big of a part in this fic, as the main pairing is with seto and tea. oh and I hope no one was weirded out by Duke's weird behavior, but I have stuff planned for him that will work out towards the end of the fic, so just bear with me if you don't like Duke (personally I think he's the second hottest guy on the show – next to Kaiba being number one, of course) anyway, please review and wait a little while longer for my next update! Bye!_


	10. Are We Saved?

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

Chapter 10 – Are We Saved?

Tea scrambled to her feet and began waving in the air. She plowed into the water, jumping up and down. She started to scream 'help' and waved her arms some more. The boat was so close, surely someone would see her!

"Hey! Hello! Help! HELP!" She exclaimed, and then squinted to try and see onto the small white boat. Then a figure walked out. She waved stronger and yelled some more.

Her heart rose in her chest. Someone! They were going to be saved!

She looked over at Kaiba, who was still unconscious on the ground. She turned back around to see the man on the boat getting into a small row boat and started to head towards them.

She laughed happily and waited a painfully long five minutes as he rowed to shore and dragged the boat onto the beach. Tea ran up to him.

He was a young man, almost her age she would have guessed, maybe older. He had a healthy tan and had dark black hair and brown eyes that were hidden under large sunglasses. His hair was long, but it was tied into a ponytail behind his head. He had some thick stubble on his chin. He wore shorts and a loose tan shirt with a bandana around his wrist.

"Hey, little lady." He said in a thick accent that sounded familiar. He pushed up his sunglasses and sized her up. He was ogling her scantily clad body, especially her legs.

She felt like hugging their savior, but suddenly she got a strange feeling from him. She opted to just smile politely, but she couldn't hold back her excitement. "I'm so glad you came here. We've been stranded here, we need to get back to Japan! You see, our plane-thing crashed, and we've been stuck here for a while, could you please let us use the radio or something, take us back, please?"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" He chuckled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "For one, my radio is, uh, broken. But I'll be happy to give you a ride back. I'm Kiyo, pleased to meet ya."

"T-Tea. And that over there is, uh," She paused a moment. This Kiyo guy was going to help them, but she'd better keep Kaiba's identity a secret, since a lot of people didn't seem to hold much regard for him. "That's uh, Seto."

Kiyo nodded and looked over at the man next to the fire, obviously asleep. "What, he asleep?"

"No, he's sick. Do you have any medicine?"

"Of course... on the boat." He said calmly.

Tea hesitated. Something wasn't right. She felt nervous. She wished Kaiba would wake up. Even though Kaiba was Kaiba, she felt safer around him.

She bit her lip but then nodded. "Of course."

She ehaded back over to Kaiba. She knelt besides him, and shook his shoulder. He didn't stir. She tried again, this time patting his cheeks with the back of her hand. Still no reaction.

"Will you help me get him onto the boat?" She asked, and he smiled brightly and nodded as well.

They lifted Kaiba and carried him to the row boat. Kiyo stopped a second. "He looks familiar. Is he like someone famous or something?"

"No! Him? Ha!" She laughed and laughed. Her eyes went wide when she turned away from him.

They managed to drag him to the boat. She kept expecting Kaiba to wake up and struggle and yell obscenities about having to be carried somewhere. But he never did. He made a grunt or two and a moan here and there, but other than that, he seemed completely out of it.

As Kiyo rowed towards his boat, Tea felt that strange feeling in her gut again.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Mai almost coughed up her iced coffee she had made before picking up Serenity. The girl had just told her where she wanted to go. Maybe she heard wrong. "_Where_ did you say you wanted to go, hun?"

"Kaiba Corp." She said in a small voice.

"Weren't we just there a few days ago?" Mai asked, and Serenity nodded. "Does this have anything to do with what we saw on tv yesterday?"

Serentiy nodded again.

Mai sighed, but sped away from her house to Kaiba Corp. After a few minutes of silence, she sighed. "Tell me what this is all about, dear."

"I wanted to see Mokuba." She said, but went no further.

"Kaiba's little brother? Why?"

"Because... I..." She stopped. "You wouldn't understand. You'll say it's crazy."

Mai rolled her eyes. "For crying out loud, Serenity, I'm in love with your brother, that's gotta be as crazy as it gets... uh, I-I mean..." She began to stutter, and Serenity saw her blushing.

Serenity smiled. She knew it! She giggled. "It's okay, Mai, it'll be our little secret."

Mai sighed and tried to wipe away her blush. "Enough about me, Serenity, just tell me already what we're driving to Kaiba Corp. –the battlefield- for."

"I-I... I want to give Mokuba Kaiba a hug." She said in a small voice.

Mai gave a light laugh. "Is that all? Well, I could tell from yesterday you liked him."

Serenity couldn't help the blush. "I don't like him! He's too young for me! Mai! I-I just want to give him a _friendly_ hug! That's all!" She huffed and calmed down a bit. "I just understand what it's like to be away from your brother for so long. I understand what he must be feeling, even though he's hiding it."

Mai's eyes softened. It was so sweet.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Kiyo and Tea managed to get Kaiba onto the boat and into the lounge part of the small boat. They laid him on the couch. He was still asleep.

Tea knealt besides him and Kiyo went into the back to get the first aid kit and medicine bottles. She looked over at Kaiba, who was still sweating a lot, and breathing heavily. She felt his forehead. She frowned. She brushed his damp bangs from his closed eyes.

Kiyo walked back in and saw this and smirked. "So, he your boyfriend, or what?"

Tea suddenly remembered the kiss they had shared. But then she thought about all the other incidents after that. The arguing, the hugging, the damn snakes and the stupid crabs!

She stood up from Kaiba and shook her head. "No, he is most certainly not my boyfriend."

Kiyo gave a smirk, that reminded her a lot of Kaiba's. "I see, so I have a chance."

"W-what?" Tea asked, taken aback by his boldness.

"Heh, nevermind, sweetie." He said and opened the first aid and searched through the bottles. He pulled out one in particular and opened it and poured out three pills. He pulled out a water bottle and roughly opened Kaiba's mouth and poured in the pills, and then the water. He shut his mouth and held it there until he swallowed.

"Thank you so much. He's really had me worried." Tea replied. "So, can we get back to Japan soon, please, we've been gone for a while. All our friends and relatives must be worried."

Kiyo looked away from her for a moment, and smiled. "I've been out here for a while. I need some supplies from this island. We'll leave when I gather them, how bout that?"

Tea really had no other option. He was their ride home, and he was the captain. She couldn't very well disagree. "O-okay." She said in a small voice.

"Great. I'm gonna go get them now. You stay here with... Seto, is it... and I'll be back. You can borrow some of my clothes if you want. They're in there," he pointed to the back where his bedroom was, "and there's some food in the fridge. Help yourself. I'll be back in a few hours or so." He turned to walk away, but he turned back around and she saw something strange in his brown eyes. "Don't even try to steal my boat, I'll have the keys anyway."

He then left again. She frowned. That same feeling.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Mai dropped Serenity off at the outskirts of Kaiba Corp. The place looked like a war zome, barbed wire fences and several security officers guarding the outside. She said who she was, and thankfully it was the same guard they had talked to when they first came to visit him.

After a few security clearances, she was allowed to come in and meet with Mokuba.

After what seemed like a half hour of checkpoints and security checkups, she was allowed up to Mokuba's office.

She was now face to face with the large doors. She knocked, and heard a raspy 'come in' from inside. She crept in and looked around. She saw Mokuba at his desk, looking at a computer screen. He looked up at her and she saw a small smile on his face.

"Serenity, hey." He replied and got up from his desk to meet her face to face.

Serenity was suddenly nervous. She was all gung-ho about this, but now that she was here, she couldn't move a muscle.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Mokuba asked, coming closer.

Serenity still hesitated. When did he get so tall? He was almost as tall as she was. Had she just never noticed it before? He had his hair pulled back again, which gave him the appearance of having short hair. He looked so much older.

Mokuba frowned. What was wrong with her?

Before he could ask her again what was wrong, there was a loud siren and red lights began to blink.

Mokuba cursed in his mind. Another attack! "Serenity! You have to get out of here, there's no telling-"

An explosion nearby, and laserfire cut off his sentence.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Tea rummaged through his clothes and picked out a small no-sleeved tight shirt, that was tight even on her. Then she found some shorts. She put them on, but they were big on her, so she found a belt and tied it to the last hole.

She used the first aid kit on all her small wounds, even put aloe on her burn. She rebandaged them all with fresh guaze and piled her clothes and scraps of bandages in a pile.

She ate some crackers from the kitchen, and looked around the boat. There wasn't anything suspicious that she could see. She headed back to check on Kaiba.

She went on her knees and bent down next to him on the couch. He twitched and made a noise. She reached over and poured some more water into his mouth.

His eyebrows suddenly creased. Had she poured too much?

He choked and then spat the water out and started to cough.

His blue eyes finally focused and he looked over at Tea. She looked really pissed for some reason, and her face was all wet.

He would have made a sly remark, if it wasn't for his throat. It burned. His whole body ached, and he was still a slight bit dizzy.

He couldn't remember what had happened. He was arguing with her right? Maybe he dreamed that. Did he pass out? No! There was no way he passed out. He wasn't that sick.

Then he noticed he wasn't on the ground. He was on something with cushions and a pillow. What the hell? He looked back at Tea, who was turning red with anger, her face still dripping water.

He looked passed her and to their surroundings. Were they indoors somewhere? When did that happen? Maybe he was dreaming.

Then Tea gripped his collar and pulled him up. "Why'd you do that for!"

He frowned. "What?" He asked, his throat burning, even though it was just one word.

"Ugh!" She loosened her grip, but his hand had found its way up and was holding onto her wrist.

"Uh, where are...?" He managed in a low, weak voice. He frowned to himself. Seto Kaiba was _never_ weak. He cleared his throat, and attempted a deeper, more structural sentence, "Where are we?"

"You were sick, and then I saw a boat, and I started to yell at it, and this guy named Kiyo came out and helped me to his boat with you, and then we..." She kept going on and on and Kaiba began to get even more dizzy.

She needed to stop talking. His voice wasn't strong enough to yell at her, and his strength wasn't quite back to just forcefully close her mouth. Her fast talking, with obviously no close conclusion, was giving him a headache.

"And then he said the radio was not working, and he had to get supplies, and we gave you some pills, so hopefully you're..." She stopped when she felt a warm hand snake its way to her neck and pull her down swiftly, a set of lips suddenly on her own.

He didn't know whether it was the fact he was sick, or maybe he was on some powerful drugs, but that was the only possible solution he could come up with to shut her up. He held her there, hoping she'd get the picture. She was obviously stunned, because she didn't move. Then she made some noises that almost seemed like she was _still_ talking, even though he was _trying_ to kiss her to shut her up.

He opened his mouth slightly and used his tongue to lick her bottom lip before nipping it. She stopped her 'talking' and leaned in closer over his head with her own. She deepened the kiss, her own tongue brushing against his lips.

As if he was dizzy enough as it was, this only made things worse. Okay, he admitted, he _might_ be sick, since he was actually kissing Gardner... _again_. His mind must not have been in the right place if he thought that kissing her was even a _possible_ solution to making her stop talking. What had he been thinking?

But even though he was sure he was making yet another mistake, he found his mouth molding to hers in a slow, steady rhythm. And she was far from resisting, her lips yielding to his, acting almost eager for his taste. And _oh god_, she tasted like food –_real_ food- and that didn't make it any better for him; it just fueled his lips' growing hunger.

The hand that rested on her wrist slid up her arm to rest on her shoulder, and he yanked with the little bit of strength he had, to pull her closer, her upper body almost falling ontop of his. The hand on her neck massaged her soft skin there. When he nipped her lower lip again, she made a small noise in the back of her throat.

"And I thought you said he wasn't your boyfriend." Came a voice from behind them.

Tea pulled away and stood up, staggered a bit, and wiped her mouth. "K-Kiyo! You're back!"

He smirked. "Yeah, I'm back." He said, a small smirk on his face. He looked over at Kaiba, who was trying to sit up, despite his head and body. He managed to finally accomplish this and stared over at Kiyo. He looked out of it a little, but Kiyo could almost see the anger in his eyes that he had interrupted them.

"Ka-_uh_... _Seto_, this is Kiyo, the one I was talking about."

"Hello." Kaiba croaked out, despite his best efforts to keep his voice clear. He felt like strangling the guy. Not only for that smirk on his face, but the fact that he had interrupted something he was slightly, maybe, almost, beginning to enjoy. He figured he needed to be civil, since the boat _did_ belong to this guy. And wait a minute... did Tea just call him 'Seto'?

Kiyo nodded, almost to himself it seemed, surveying the two with great interest. "So I hear that you two have been stranded, huh? Well, have nothing to fear, since good ol' Kiyo is here." He jabbed a thumb into his own chest. "Why don't I make you all some food before we head out." He headed towards the kitchen.

Tea let out a big sigh before sitting down on the couch next to Kaiba. He looked over at her and saw a look on her face. She seemed nervous and worried; she was looking in the direction that Kiyo went. Kaiba leaned over and came close to Tea's ear.

"I don't trust him." Kaiba managed to get out in a weak whisper.

Tea, even though their situation was unnerving, couldn't help but shiver as Kaiba's breath danced over her neck and ear. "Me neither, but we've got no other choice."

Kaiba made a noise. "I could take him." He said simply, his voice still low and uneven.

Tea scrunched her eyebrows. "You mean _steal_ the boat?" She turned to face him, realizing how close he still was to her. He was mere inches away. Moments ago they had been kissing... she blanked out for a moment; she began to stare at his lips as he talked.

"Yes, steal the boat." He replied, then noticed she wasn't looking him in the eyes. He reached out a hand and tipped her head up. "You need to focus, Gardner." He whispered harshly, but his breath was so close to her mouth that her lips tingled.

The hand that had tipped her head up now rested on her shoulder. How could she focus with him _touching_ her. She blinked a few times; then she whispered, "You're in no condition to 'take on' anyone. You're still sick."

He creased his brow angrily. "I'm feeling better. I'll be in perfect condition in a little while."

She rolled her eyes. "You do realize how sick you were, don't you? Do you even remember last night?"

He looked at her in silence. What the hell was she talking about?

"That's what I thought. Now, get some more rest. We'll eat, and _then_ consider hijacking people." She was about to stand up when Kaiba kept her there with his hand on her shoulder. She looked at him. His face was determined, but tired. She knew what he was going to say. "Yeah, yeah, it was a mistake, I know." She said, referring to their kiss, and this time snaked out of his grip and left to go into the bathroom.

Kaiba watched her go. That wasn't what he was going to say.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Kiyo peeked at the two from the kitchen. They were whispering to eachother. Whatever they were talking about, it mattered little. He prepared their dinner, and then put everything on plates and bowls. He got out a small jar from his pocket and poured a liquid on two of the plates. He smirked as he emptied the entire contents.

* * *

_A/N: omg! I updated, and quickly too! That's only because this chapter just came to me easily. My fruba fic people are gonna kill me because I updated this one again without updating any of my others. Oooops. They'll just have to wait. Does everyone here feel lucky though? Good. Did everyone like the kiss scene? I had to have more interaction between the two, and you can do fun stuff with Kaiba when he's sick and delirious and on meds. Yea, I had mixed opinions on the mokuba/serenity thing, so I'm gonna keep it very small and simple. Sorry about the omission of Bakura (sorry, fangirls) b/c I can't write him well, and he is not high on my list of favorite people from yugioh. Sorry. Anyway, Kiyo is weird, huh? Well, he's supposed to be! Anyway, it won't be this quick for me to update, although since I received so many reviews for last chapter, I was inspired and popped it out quickly….so REVIEW PLEASE! Bye._


	11. Walking the Plank

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

Chapter 11 – Walking the Plank

Mokuba had tackled Serenity to the ground, shielding her from flying debris. He heard their own laserfire answering the fighters who were attacking them. There was another explosion, and Mokuba listened.

It was silent.

He sighed. It was over, for now. He sat up and looked down at Serenity, who was sitting back up as well. She coughed and brushed dust from her clothes.

Mokuba sighed yet again to see she was uninjured. "Sorry about that, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just shocked is all." She said, noticing her hands were trembling.

Mokuba was about to reach for her shaking hands. She was scared, but so was he. Maybe he could comfort her. As his hand found the courage to reach out, the door burst open and security officers ran in, along with Roland.

"Master Kaiba! Miss. Are you both alright?" Roland asked, helping both of the up.

Mokuba nodded and brushed some more dirt from his shirt. "That was a close one. How'd it get so close?" He asked.

"We didn't see this one until it was too late, sir. He got through our perimeter defenses with some kind of holographic shielding technology." Roland reported.

Mokuba frowned. "That's new."

"We're running scans on the wreckage now, sir." Roland replied, and he nodded. He looked over at Serenity. "Want me to show the lady out, sir?"

Mokuba looked over at her, and saw a look in her eyes. "No, let her stay a moment. I'll show her out." He replied, and the others nodded and then left the office. Mokuba turned to Serenity. "Now, what were you here for?" He asked kindly, trying to sound like himself; it was getting hard these last few weeks.

"Mokuba... I-I just wanted..." She stuttered, and then paused.

"What?"

"I wanted to uh... just say that..." She bit her lip and looked into his slate-colored eyes. She could be brave. "I wanted you to understand that I know what you're going through. I was separated from Joey for so long, and I missed him everyday. I even started to say that I didn't need him, but then I knew I was wrong. He was my older brother; I will always need him. And all these people being... mean to you. I can't stand that. You miss your brother, and a lot of responsibility has been given to you, and you didn't even ask for it," She began to tear up, "and I just want you to know we think –I think- you're doing a wonderful job! And, and..."

Mokuba was touched by her words, but he didn't expect what she did next. She reached out and pulled him into a tight hug. She was crying on his shoulder as she bent down to hug him. He didn't have anything to say; but he felt a blush on his cheeks.

"I'll cry for the both of us. I'll cry for you, Mokuba." She hugged him tighter and sobbed into his shoulder, and felt as his hands came around her and hugged her back.

"Thankyou." He said softly, and she felt his own tears against her neck.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Tea and Kaiba ate in the small kitchen with Kiyo. He was eating too, but he was reading something. Tea was nervous. She didn't like this situation at all. She was hungry, so she was scarfing the food. Kaiba was being a little more refined, eating quickly, but with manners.

She tapped her fingers on the table top. She was nervous. She wanted to get back home. Why wouldn't this guy just take them there already? Why was he stalling? Why did she get such a bad vibe from him?

Her tapping become louder, but then it was silenced.

Kiyo peeked up from his book.

She nearly choked on a mouthful of rice. She looked over to see Kaiba had placed a hand on hers to silence her. But he wasn't moving it away. He kept it there and she peeked from under her bangs to look at him.

He was giving her an annoyed glare. She stared back down at their hands. He finally pulled away and then continued to eat. She was certainly acting nervous, he noticed.

Kaiba was indeed very hungry, but something didn't taste right. The food had a weird aftertaste, almost like he had used alcohol in the cooking and didn't boil it down enough. Even though his stomach was still hungry, he began to slow down his eating.

Something just wasn't right. Kaiba put down his chopsticks and glared over at Kiyo, whom he found was already staring at him. That was creepy. Kiyo looked fidgety all of a sudden. He looked at his watch.

Kaiba suddenly felt dizzy yet again. He had been feeling better ever since he woke up, but now he felt like his vision was getting blurry again. He blinked a few times. His eyes felt so heavy.

Wait a minute! The funny aftertaste... Kiyo looking at his watch... could it be... could it be...?

Kiyo saw Kaiba struggled to keep his eyes open. He was surprised to suddenly see Kaiba upruptly rise to his feet, his hands supporting himself on the table. But his arms were trembling.

"Run Tea!" Kaiba exclaimed, as his strength began to give way.

"I..." She began, but she sounded a little out of it.

Kiyo rose to his feet and looked over at Tea.

"Run _now_ Tea!" Kaiba yelled again, but turned and saw she was swaying.

"I _can't_..." She said helplessly and she passed out on top of the table.

Kiyo then turned to Kaiba. He was surprised to see he hadn't passed out yet. He had put the most into his to be sure he'd be knocked out the quickest. But here the man was, still standing; just barely though. Kiyo just had to wait for the drug to kick in.

Kaiba pushed back from the table to straighten up, but the world was spinning around him. He could barely keep his balance as he saw Kiyo walk around the opposite side of the table towards Tea. Kaiba grunted as he staggered and fought to keep his eyes open.

Kiyo began to laugh menacingly as he saw Kaiba finally waver.

Before Kaiba could react to anything else and try to escape, Kiyo was by his side and had landed a punch across his jaw. Kaiba heard glass breaking and there was a white light as his head hit something else and he was finally out cold.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Duke was on the outskirts of the city when he saw the jet fly overhead. It was the same as the ones that had attacked Kaiba's dueling yacht. As it neared the city, it shimmered, and he swore it went invisible. Maybe he was just seeing things, because it was raining and obscuring his vision a bit.

He saw distant flashes of lights against the afternoon clouds. There was another bright flash, and then the sky was silent again.

He frowned and then looked up to follow the trail of the jet. He saw the the direction it had come from, and he pulled out his compass and matched it up. It was coming directly from the south-east.

He hopped back onto his bike and began to head in that direction.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Tea felt a cold brush of air on her cheek. She tried to open her eyes. It was a fight to get them finally open, and when she did everything was blurry. She was outside, probably on the deck of Kiyo's boat. Kiyo! He had drugged their food!

She tried to push herself up, but found her arms were bound behind her back. She struggled until she saw movement, and her eyes began to focus; but as soon as they did she was watching Kiyo dragging something to the railing.

Her eyes went wide when she saw Kiyo dump Kaiba's lifeless form over the edge.

"N-no!" She screamed and tried to struggle some more, try to somehow get to her feet. But her legs were tied together too. "No!"

Kiyo gave a particularly evil laugh and walked over to her, noticing she was awake. He bent down next to her and saw her flinch and tears roll down her cheeks. He reached out and took her head in his hands so her face angled up to his.

"Now that I got your boyfriend out of the way, heh, I can have you all to myself." Kiyo replied and forcefully pressed his lips to hers.

He jerked back suddenly and stood away from her, wiping blood from his lips. She had bit him!

She spit out his blood at his feet, and his eyes narrowed. "You're gonna regret that, little lady." He replied and reached down and grabbed her by her hair.

She screamed out in pain as he began to drag her into the boat's cabin. "Let me go, you bastard!" She struggled, but her hair pulled tighter against his fist and she closed her eyes from the sharp sting.

"The drug is obviously wearing out." He mumbled to himself and then gripped her around the waist and threw her onto his bed at the back of the cabin. She kicked with her bound legs and managed to land a blow to his arm.

He frowned. Then he backhanded her.

"Stupid bitch; shouldna done that." He said and reached into his pocket and pulled out another unlabled bottle. He pushed it towards her mouth, but she kept it closed. He held her nose and waited for her to lose her breath. When she finally opened her mouth to breath, he poured the liquid down. She spit most of it up in his face.

"What did you do to him!" She exclaimed suddenly.

"I threw him overboard, what did it look like? He's long gone by now, sweetie. Drowned. Dead." He saw her face get angry, but tears also fell from her eyes. "Now, shut up and be still. I'll show you a really good time."

"Get the hell-" She began, but was immediately gagged.

Her tied hands were trapped above her head by a set of strong arms. She still managed to struggle, even though a small amount of the drug had gotten down her throat and was making her dizzy again.

Kiyo pushed her legs up, and she feared that the worst was about to happen.

Suddenly Kiyo was no longer ontop of her. She opened her eyes to see that he had been yanked back. She stared, wide eyed, as he was spun around in a circle just as an arm pulled back and landed a hard punch across his face.

Kiyo fell to the floor at the end of the bed.

And there, dripping from head to toe, looking very menacing -and yet, strangely beautiful- was Seto Kaiba himself. He was panting heavily and he blinked a few times. He staggered and had to place a hand against the wall for support.

"I told you I could take him." Kaiba said in a low, gravelly voice. She couldn't help but smile.

She sat up to get off the bed, but then a leg flew up and knocked Kaiba back and into the lounge area again. She gasped against her gag as Kiyo stood and marched towards the fallen Kaiba.

Kiyo pulled out a very large knife and jabbed at Kaiba as he tried to stand. Kaiba dodged, to an extent, but held himself steady against a nearby table. His strength wasn't back fully; but if it had been, this guy would have been history in ten seconds.

Kiyo went into a fighting stance, and jabbed again, but he missed because someone had knocked into him from behind, knocking him to the floor. Kaiba looked down to see Tea had Kiyo temporarily pinned.

Kaiba went for the knife, but Kiyo was too quick, and rolled and gripped his knife tightly, and then brought it against Tea's throat. They were kneeling on the ground in front of Kaiba, who was partially still leaning on the table.

Kaiba began to see spots in his vision. He had to keep his focus.

It had been a rough time ever since he regained consciousness in the water, about to run out of breath. He had managed to make it to the surface, and swam back to the boat, knowing Tea was still there.

Tea groaned as Kiyo pressed the knife closer. He pulled her up to stand with him.

Kaiba blinked and held up his hands in defeat.

The moment Tea felt Kiyo's grip loosen, she pushed her head back to headbutt him. He stumbled back and she spun on her bound heels and thrust her tied hands up to hit him in the face, but she couldn't keep her balance.

She fell backwards, but was caught by a set of strong, wet arms. Then she was swung around as Kiyo jabbed at them. Kaiba held her tightly, partly using her as a balancing support. It was a whirl of colors as he spun her and dipped her as Kiyo attacked them. The close quarters of the small boat's cabin was swirling in her vision.

Kiyo obviously got fed up, and looked over at a cabinet. He quickly opened it and pulled out a fire axe.

Kaiba and Tea both gulped; there was no way they were gonna dodge that in their condition.

Kaiba –with the rest of his strength- scooped Tea up and made a run for it.

Kiyo cried out a battle cry behind them and Kaiba didn't turn once as he left the cabin and then leapt into the ocean once again from the railing.

They hit the water hard, and Tea thought for sure she was going to die, because she was still tied up and gagged, and Kaiba was obviously still drugged/sick. Her lungs burned as the dark waters filled her vision.

Kiyo saw them fly into the dark waters. He sighed and threw down the axe in frustration. He thought he was going to have some fun at this stopoff! These two were too much of a hassle! He walked back to the cabin to drive back home.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Just when Tea thought she was going to pass out, Kaiba found her again, and brought her to the surface. She gasped for breath against the gag. He took her still bound arms and stuck his head through them.

He began to swim back to the island, which was still close by. They heard the sound of the boat's engine roaring away. They reached shore quickly, and collapsed on the sandy beach like they had when they first arrived.

They were both exhausted and panting. Tea still had her arms bound and around his neck. They were laying on their sides, facing eachother. She cleared her throat irritably. His eyes opened and looked at her.

"K-afffsh." She said against the gag. He reached up and took it away from her mouth. She sighed. "Finally."

"And here I was enjoying the silence." He said softly, his voice still deep and hoarse.

They had just been drugged, captured, and pushed overboard -all by some creepy psychopath with an axe, escaped and swam from his boat, and were now entertwined in eachother's arms on the beach of their solitary little island they had washed ashore on before... and he had made a joke. This was definitely not the Kaiba she knew.

"Uh, Kaiba, do you think you can undo my hands and legs now?" She asked, a little impatiently.

His eyes narrowed, and his face was serious. "No." He said simply.

She frowned. Okay, maybe the drugs were still in effect: they were still messing with his brain. "But this is getting a little..." she paused when he rolled slightly and was leaning over her, "...uncomfortable," she finished the last word almost in a whisper.

"Not until you actually let me finish what I was going to say before." He leaned in closer, his blue eyes clear and dark in the moonlight. "I wasn't going to say it was a mistake..." He said and her eyes went wide in shock. "I was going to say..." he leaned in close and whispered against her lips, "...you didn't need to worry, because I would protect you."

She sucked in a breath of surprise at the sincerity and content of his words. More than ever did she want him to kiss her. But before she could even fully sort out her own thoughts, Kaiba ducked out from her arms and began to undo her arms and legs from their bindings.

She watched him do it in silence, and then he stood up and walked away from her without saying anything more. She watched him go. He went back to their camp site and began to make a new fire. She placed her fingers against her lips.

She wanted to protect him too.

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_A/N: Holy crap! Another update! My fruba people are REALLY gonna kill me now. I expect a very nasty review from missy (my friend/fruba fanfic fan person)... this story is just flowing out better than the other one. But for those of you who read both my stories (yugioh and fruba) know that I'm almost done with the fruba update, so just wait please. Please? Well, anyway, phew! This chapter is over –some fun stuff. Now back to some more fluff with their little adventures on the island. This incident with Kiyo was actually supposed to happen towards the end of the story, but I felt it needed to be upped a bit to add some drama and romance. Yay! More fluffiness next chapter! Please, please, leave a REVIEW! It makes me so happy, and I get inspired! Okay, see ya soon!_


	12. Warm Fuzzy Feelings Wait!

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

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Chapter 12 – Warm Fuzzy Feelings... Wait! 

Tea sighed as she saw Kaiba maintaining the fire as usual in the morning sun. Here they were; back to normal, if you would call being stranded on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere normal.

She looked down at her clothes. They were Kiyo's. She suddenly remembered that she had left her clothes on his boat. She didn't want to be reminded of Kiyo, but these clothes were better than the ones she had been wearing.

She saw Kaiba pause and he seemed to be thinking really hard about something all of a sudden.

Kaiba almost choked when he finally remembered. Through all of that whole ordeal he hadn't even once thought about his duel monsters deck! He looked over to the tree that he kept it hidden in. He walked over and pulled his duel disc and deck from a hiding place inside the tree's trunk.

He fingered the cards in their holster. Duel monsters was practically his life, and he had almost left it behind without so much of a thought to retrieve them! What was happening to him?

He looked over at Tea and just stared at her as she was tending to a fishing pole. Her slender fingers worked so diligently and her hair was falling in her face, almost covering up those crystal clear eyes.

_That's_ what was happening to him.

It had been almost a month since they were stuck here together, and already he was beginning to... and he slightly cringed at the thought... to _care_ for her. He even admitted to wanting to protect her. He even kissed her twice... not to mention he was wanting to do it again.

Kaiba rubbed his head and then put his duel disc and deck back in the tree. Thoughts like wanting to kiss Tea again were dangerous. He rubbed his temple and let out a sigh. He needed to focus his mind on something other than her at the moment.

But that was a hard thing to do.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Another attack had given Duke a lot of clues. He had traced the direction the fighter jets were coming from and with the help of Kaiba Corp's navigation systems, they were able to estimate a certain area to search in.

He asked people in the area if they saw jets flying overhead a lot. Many said no, but a few pointed out the direction they thought they came from. It wasn't much, but he felt he was getting closer.

His cell rang when he took a pit stop in a small farming town.

"Duke Devlin." He stated.

"Hey Dice Boy, how're things over in yer neck of da woods?"

"Hey Joey." Duke replied. It was never hard to distinguish Joey's voice on the phone. "I guess they're okay. Still no luck, but I think I'll aska a few more people around here to see if I can dig up any more clues."

"I see. Well, we were just checkin' up on ya, since we haven't heard from you in a while."

Duke couldn't help but smile. He could hear Tristan in the background grumbling something about having Serenity all to himself, but she was running off with someone or something. He didn't catch it all. "_What_ did Taylor just say about Serenity?"

"Nothin!" Joey exclaimed, then his voice went softer as he was obviously speaking over his shoulder, "Nothin' Tristan, ya hear me?" He came back online with Duke, "Sorry, for some reason thinks he's goin' out with my sista' or somethin'."

"Yeah, 'cause she's mine, right?"

"Ri-_What_! Listen here Dice Boy, you may be doin' an awful good thing for the Kaiba's right now, but I won't tolerate that kind of junk! Serenity doesn't belong to any three of you jerks! Bye, Duke." He growled and hung up the phone.

Duke frowned. Three jerks? Who was the third jerk?

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Mokuba smiled as Serenity handed him a cup of hot green tea. They were in the basement of Kaiba Corp looking at schematics. She had been hanging around with him here for a few days now, but he was not complaining.

Serenity on the outside seemed to just be some useless girl hanging around amidst all the machines and computers and men in business suits, but to Mokuba she was more than that. She was a good friend who was helping him through a difficult time. Just her simple presence made him feel at ease.

Mokuba was looking over some stock charts and going through the business expenses for the amusement parks in the States. Things had been in a decline, but now they were starting to pick back up. They were nowhere near the peak they had been in a few months ago before Seto disappeared. But Mokuba was just glad that things were finally beginning to shape back up.

Serenity leaned in to look at the graphs from behind him. He really didn't mean to tense up, but her arm was leaning against his shoulder. The contact was making him blush and lose focus.

"How's it going Mokie?" She asked.

"Uh... good. Things are looking better."

"And you haven't had an attack in a few days now. I wonder if they're gone." She sounded hopeful.

Mokuba knew better than to feel hopeful. "Whoever they are, I know they aren't through. They're probably coming up with better technology." He rested his chin on his hands that were propped on the table.

Serenity leaned back and sighed. "Well, the less they attack, the better."

"Yeah." He replied distantly as he typed another memo to be put out.

Serenity got an evil little smile on her face. She had to cheer him up. He was looking more gloomy as of late. She thought about what she could do for him. Her face lit up. She had just the idea!

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Kaiba came out from the tree line and onto the beach to see Tea just staring up at the sky. What in the hell? He tried to follow her gaze. Turned out she was looking at the top of a group of trees at the end of the beach.

He walked up to her. "What are you doing, staring off into space like the village idiot?"

He saw her shoulders tense and she frowned. She squinted as she looked over at him. "I was _thinking_ about us getting some coconuts for dinner." She pointed up at the cluster of trees. Indeed, there were some coconuts on the top canopy of palm leaves.

"How do you suppose we get them?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking about. C'mon, you're the freakin' genius here, what's the best possible solution to getting the coconuts?" She challenged.

"Cut down the tree." He replied simply.

She tilted her head. Typical Kaiba answer; something so flashy and straight forward. It reminded her of the time he had blown up his own Island during the end of the Battle City Finals. But that wasn't the point!

"Kaiba... cut down the tree with _what_?" She demanded.

"Hmm." Was all he said and looked back at the trees.

"How about I stand on your shoulders. I think we'll be tall enough." She suggested and saw that look in his eyes; the look that said 'what in the hell? are you an idiot?'

"You're suggesting you _climb_ on me to reach them... when'd you think I would ever let you _climb_ on me?" He growled. She huffed.

"Didn't you say that you'd protect me? Huh?"

_Oh yeah_... he sighed at the thought. He _really had_ said that didn't he?

"Well, protect me from falling will ya!" She came behind him and physically pushed him towards the trees. He resisted, but the next thing he knew they were under a cluster of coconuts. "Now, on your knees."

He scoffed. "What makes you think that I'll ever get on my knees for you?"

She rolled her eyes. She swiftly reached down and tickled the back of his knee. He buckled, surprised more than anything, and she took that moment to force him down by his shoulders. She began to climb up his back to his shoulders.

She finally put her feet on his shoulders, wobbily, and held the trunk for support. "Okay, stand up now."

How in the hell did this situation even come into play? He had no intention of helping her, but here he was, letting her stand on his shoulders. He stood so quickly, she almost lost her balance, and shifted her weight to straighten herself.

Was he _trying_ to make her fall off?

She held onto the trunk tightly, afraid she was going to fall off. She managed to look down to already see Kaiba looking up at her with an annoyed, frustrated look. "Are you going to get them or not?" He asked, agitated.

"Right!" She looked up and grabbed for the nearest one. She just wasn't tall enough. She tried getting on her tip-toes to reach. Her feet dug into his shoulders and he made a grunt of uncomfortable pain. "Sorry!"

"Just hurry up." He growled.

She grabbed ahold of one and pulled. It wasn't coming loose. Her feet wobbled and her knees trembled. She yanked hard to pull the coconut free, but in doing so her heels pushed forward, sending Kaiba headfirst into the tree trunk. She screamed as she fell backwards and landed with a crack ontop of the fallen Kaiba.

She looked down to see she had somehow ended up on Kaiba's back. He lay there, face in the sand, his hands spread out besides his head. He wasn't moving.

Oh no, she just killed him! She frantically scrambled off him, and turned him around, but saw him wince and seeth through his teeth.

His blue eyes opened menacingly and if looks could kill, she would be long dead and buried under twenty feet of dirt. She bit her lip and backed away as he tried to sit up.

He growled and mumbled something under his breath and slowly stood. He walked away from her and to the fire he had just lit that afternoon.

She felt sorry for him. But he hadn't yelled at her! That was a first... wasn't it? She sighed and walked over to him and set the coconut down, away from them. She turned to him.

He looked in pain, even though he was trying to hide it.

"I'm sorry I hurt your back." She said softly.

He didn't say or do anything. He was too furious and busy talking in his head about things he'd like to do, like strangle her or sit on her back, or some other childish thing he would never admit he had even thought about.

The pain was shooting up his back in waves. He could really go for a relaxing chiropractic massage right about now.

He tensed when he felt a pair of fingers run along his spinal cord. He straightened emmediately and whipped his head around to see Tea behind him, pressing on his back with her fingers.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" He demanded, but she physically pushed his head back to facing forward. Then he involuntarily closed his eyes as her hands began to rub his tense shoulders. It felt really nice. Too nice.

She trailed her hands and kneaded his muscles and then worked her fingers between his shoulder blades. She rubbed down his spine almost down to his hips, and then worked her way back up. she found the knots in his back and rubbed in a slow circle to get the kinks out.

She smiled to herself as she felt him relax in her hands. Boy, all those times she did it for her mom really gave her plenty of experience. But this _was_ a little different. His muscles were lean and fit, and his shoulders strong but tense. He felt so tense, like he was carrying the weight of the world on those shoulders.

She softly kneaded the shoulder blades again before working on his spine again. She felt every bone in her soft fingers, and she almost had every muscle memorized when he titled back his head and let out a long breath.

He leaned back against her hands more and more, until he was practically laying in her lap. She reached up and tentatively touched his head and felt his hair. He wasn't resisting, and she couldn't help but continue.

She rubbed the sides of his head and down his neck and behind his ears. Then she worked on his temples and forehead. His eyes were closed, and he let out a small groan, and then she noticed that he was asleep, his head and part of his upper body supported on her lap.

She smiled again and brushed some hair out of his face and away from his eyes. He looked so peaceful. And who would have thought that Seto Kaiba was particularly fond of back rubs. She was finding out that Kaiba was turning out to be a completely different person than what she thought he was.

Then again... she remembered his comments from before about her and the climbing and the kneeling. Or the fact that after she hurt him, he went and sulked by himself. Nope, he was still Kaiba.

"Well, I guess I paid you back for falling on you. I don't owe you anything now." She said softly.

She nearly passed out from surprise as blue eyes shot open and looked up at her. "_What_ about you don't owe me anything? Paid me back?"

"You weren't asleep!" She exclaimed.

"Of course not." He smirked that stupid smirk of his. "You're a nice pillow after all."

"Ugh!" She pushed him off her knees and he rolled to sit on his knees. She tried to stand up but Kaiba reached up and pulled her back down so she landed on her knees in front of him, who was now positioned the same way.

He looked down at her with mischief in his eyes.

"Let go of me." She demanded, but it was in a soft voice.

He kept his death-grip on her wrist. His other hand clasped around her waist to pull her closer.

She fought the blush on her cheeks and looked away from him. He was just playing one of his stupid games, and she really wasn't in the mood right now. Then again, his hands on her body made her feel shivers and butterflies all over.

"I think you owe me a little more than a massage." He said, that smirk still on his lips.

Tea's eyes went wide. What _exactly_ was he proposing!

* * *

_A/N: Sorry for the lateness... but as most of you may know it is getting towards the end of school with finals, tests, and papers due all in the same week! Ahh! But, I managed to update this b/c I was inspired b/c I've been watching yugioh non-stop for like the last week. I'm rewatching the series... of course, that is 224 episodes! I'm at the end of the Kaiba corp grand prix right now. Im looking forward to watching the last season of the series (it's my fav.) –mostly cause it has a lot of Kaiba, or kaiba's other-part-self. I love the songs in the opening and beginning... lol–watching Kaiba beat Jake (or whatever his name is) –he's the best! Lol –anyway, hope you all enjoyed this, and I'll hopefully be updating in a few weeks –sorry sorry sorry – I gotta finish school up before I update any more!_

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Review replies: 

(press Ctrl F and type in your name for help finding your personal reply)

Lady Fiore-Ami Metallium: good point! Yes, it will be a while, but that is just more fun stuff to come later! Thanks for being a fan of my fruba fics too! Although, you can tell I like this story a lot more, I update more often! Lol ... Genjy0-SanzO: fluffiness is fun ain't it? ... oXanZuXo: Yeah, Kiyo was suspicious alright. They're kinda 'together-but we know this couple, huh? Hope you didn't stay up too long for this review! ... poptart: hey! It's coming as fast as my hands can type! Lol! ... Fiona McKinnon: I'm trying to write the next chapter quickly too, just hold on a little longer! ... Seguha: review soon! ... Starian Princess: yes, leave it to Seto, really! Lol, they are closer now, aren't they? I'm glad I upped that whole incident! ... QueenofHearts4u: yes, it has been a month or so since I updated these last two chappies, but I'm back. Although I might be gone for a little while until finals and school is done. Its been longer than 7 hasn't it? Uhhh... Emporessofthedragons: sorry that fanfic didn't let you review! Fanfic is weird sometimes isn't it? This one is better than the fruba fics, isn't it? Don't tell the fruba people I said that! ... RogueGoddess007: I'm glad you like it! I did hurry, didn't I? ... InsaneShadowFan: I'm so happy you really like it! I'm blushing! I will keep on rockin! ... Lily: I won't! this is slanted for a 26 chapter release! ... WingedWisdom: your welcome! It was a little short, so was this one. Sorry! Kiyo was supposed to be stupid! Especially messing with Kaiba... Kagome21: I'm bowing. Thankyou, thankyou, I have updated! Did you like it? ... Muguet: if you wanna translate it into French, that's cool. The more people who can read it, the better! I'm just glad so many people like this fic! ... yoursolastsummer: yes, he could take him, to an extent. Serenity and mokie are hard to write! Any pointers for these two? ... Hesushika: I'm glad you like it. It makes me so happy! ... TobiasDM: Thanks for the encouragement! I hope I am updating soon enough for you all! Are you really a dm?... xXTwistedzxzangeLXx: I'm glad you thought it was good! It makes me really happy that so many people like it! ... Padewan CarrCarr: Because, if he did save them, this fic would be really short, and we don't want that, do we? This is doing them some good, isn't it? Hmmm, it might be a while until they actually admit out loud, but we know these two don't we? ... suzyq: I will try to update again soon. Thanks for the support! ... amberblood: Kaiba really is changing, isn't he? Whether he wants to or not! Glad you like this! keep reading! ... Bobo-is-the-bomb: I'm glad you think this is a good story. Did you like this chapter? ... LuvinAnime: Hey! Ohmygosh, are you still not allowed back on yet? I'm so sad that I can't read your fics and your updates! I hope everything is going okay and you are able to post again. Please come back to us! We miss you! ... Gemini Gurl: You're in tears! I'm sorry! Well, hopefully this update didn't make you cry again! Hope you liked it ... Bradybunch4529: sorry for Kiyo? Why? Anyway, yes, it is because of those contradictions of terms that make Kaiba x Tea fics so fun, isn't it? ... DidiHoney: yes, I updated again! Yay! The events are turning some more aren't they? Even though this chapter wasn't so eventful... me: OK! ... merissala: Yes, if you have any ideas just tell me and I'll be happy to consider them. I'm always looking for inspiration, and what the readers want is very important to me ... swimmurgirl: This wasn't as quick as the first, but it's an update! I can't have them get home already! This is slanted for 26 chapters (tentatively), so NO! no getting off the island yet! Lol –keep reading! ... Chaos-Paladin: yea, unexpected, but I can't let them escape so soon. Kaiba's a fighter ain't he? Plus –Anzu was involved, so he had to 'protect' her ... Kiki: I will! ... dream-fantasy10: was it really the best chapter so far? Glad you liked it! What do you predict to happen next chapter? ... KatarinnaRaysLover: Glad you love it. Kaiba is the best isn't he? He's one of my favorite characters in all of anime! He's what I watch yugioh for, he's what I bought the entire series for! All 224 eps! I'm crazy, ain't I? ... Blue Rhapsody3: No, they can't make it home yet! Like I said before, this is slanted for 26 chapters, so they have to have more adventures on the island before the end chapters when they finally get home –whoops! Did I just give you a spoiler? ... cutehelenjames: I had you glued to the screen? Wow! I'm glad you liked it so much! Yes- they are back on the island. But being alone with eachother is good for the two! ... Miss Yukishiro: missy, missy, missy. You are my 300th review! Yay! It was fate you were, isn't it? My little sissy! I'm glad you're back with us finally. Now its time for you to update! I know I know, fruba for me, but yugioh is so much more fun! Dammit! Lol! Indeed Kiyo will be back, but don't tell anyone else that, okay? oO Oo I don't think anyone else eavesdropped. Anyway, gotta go. Whew! This took forever! Bye missy! ... Zoe: I hope you get an account or something and you can put me on your author alert and it will automatically email you when I update –fanfic is free, you know –glad you like the story!...Niki: Glad you think so!... me: Sorry! I'm having end of school horrorness! Finals and tests and papers due! But I managed to get this out. I got your email right before I posted this chapter! Lol. Hope you enjoy!


	13. Dance Dance Resolution

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

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Chapter 13 – Dance Dance Resolution 

Serenity pulled Mokuba up to the still intact kitchen and sat him down at the island. "I'm going to make you something special! Just wait here!" She replied and smiled.

He looked at her confused. What was she going to make him? And if she was anything like her brother –her tastes were definitely different from his own.

Serenity returned from the back of the kitchen with two plates full of frosting and cake and other assorted, and very colorful, assortments of sweet sugary stuff. Mokuba had never seen all that kind of stuff all in one bowl before.

"Uhhh, Serenity... what is this?"

"It's called the Wheeler's Wishing Well Sundae! I'm surprised you had all the ingredients. Dig in!" She exclaimed and sat down next to him and began to eat hers.

Mokuba stared at his a little hesitantly. Well, he didn't want to be rude. He scooped up some with his spoon and closed his eyes and stuck it in his mouth. He chewed and then swallowed.

His face lit up. This was the best dessert he had ever tasted!

"Me and Joey used to make this when we were feeling down, and it always seemed to cheer us up..." she blushed slightly, "... especially me. I just thought it would be nice if I did it for you." She looked over at Mokuba, to see he was almost done. Her eyes went wide.

"This was really good!"

She smiled brightly. "Glad you liked it." She replied, happy to see that her little 'present' had worked on him.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

... "I think you owe me a little more than a massage." He said, that smirk still on his lips.

Tea's eyes went wide. What _exactly_ was he proposing!

Her eyes flew up to meet his, and she saw that he was smirking. Even those dark blue eyes glittered with mischief. And here she thought Seto Kaiba was a calm and collected individual; but no. What was he up to? What did he want to do to her? ... would she resist?

As if reading her mind, he said "It's not _that_, Gardner." He said plainly and raised an eyebrow. "But if you'd like that instead..."

She rolled her eyes and bit her lip. "Keep this up and I'll have to _bite_ you again."

Kaiba just glared at her. "Listen –teach me something I don't already know. Even though I know you don't have any _real_ skills other than whining and arguing, I figured I'd see if you knew any other skills, so at least I could learn something while I'm here."

Tea was taken aback. Other than he had actually insulted her while asking for her help being a teacher, she was genuinely amazed he even asked in the first place. Well, he must have been extremely bored.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" She asked, not sure where this was all going. He finally let go of her arm and waist and sat back from her. She couldn't help but miss the contact.

"Are you good at anything?"

"Dancing. Uhh..." She thought a moment. Dammit, why was this difficult to answer?

"Fine. You'll teach me that." He said, and she frowned.

She looked at him in question. Teach Kaiba to dance. That was a challenge even to comprehend in her mind.

"'Fine'." She mocked. She stood up. "Get up. I'll teach you a few moves."

"Now?"

"Yeah now! Let's get this over with." She stood and waited for him to mimic her as he stood parallel to her. "Okay, first we need to stretch."

She reached down and touched her toes and bent to the side and stretched her arms and legs. Kaiba wasn't doing anything. He just stood there.

"You're supposed to stretch." She said angrily.

"I don't need to stretch. I'm perfectly fine."

"Alright then. Suit yourself." She snapped and thought of some basic moves to teach him. "First I'll teach you the basic steps using the feet."

She proceeded to teach him several steps which he watched and copied with almost perfect precision. She should have known that Kaiba was not only good at book smarts, but also hand-eye coordination and other such things.

He was actually pretty good at it as she taught him the harder moves. She began to imagine if he was good at other physical activities. He must have been, with as great a shape as he was. For some reason though, she just couldn't imagine him doing any sports of any kind.

She suddenly found herself wondering what sport he would be best at. She imagined him in football. Wearing those large shoulderpads and helmets, knocking people down and running –hmm, for some reason that didn't seem like him.

Basketball maybe? Running, dodging, and jumping in the air in only shorts and a tee? Nope.

Tennis didn't seem too difficult to imagine him in. Although, she got the thought of Kaiba getting upset at his opponent and hitting the ball so it'd knock the guy out. Plus –just thinking about Kaiba wearing a sweat band across his forehead just seemed ridiculous.

Then what about volleyball? Kaiba punting? Naah!

Track then? All he'd have to do it run in a circle. Too simple. Kaiba liked a challenge, and something like simply running wasn't enough. Plus, she had almost never seen him run. Would he be able to compete? Kaiba was more the type to saunter or stalk instead of run anywhere.

Soccer! Kaiba could knock people down and almost kill them. Soccer could be a dangerous sport. But then again, she still couldn't see Kaiba out in the grass and mud getting dirty and all. He didn't seem like the type to go out and get all messy if he could avoid it.

Well... that didn't leave much else. Even sports fishing was probably out of the picture. She could just imagine Kaiba getting frustrated and finally devising a way to drain the lake and pick out the biggest fish.

She got out of her daze as she saw Kaiba expertly pull off one of the hardest moves –well, a move that had taken her weeks to perfect herself.

She found herself a little jealous. Here he was, a mere rookie to the world of dance, and already was almost as good as she was!

His feet moved with ease and was surprisingly graceful. Then again, this was Kaiba she was watching. Even when he walked he seemed to be graceful; so why shouldn't he look the same while doing something like dancing?

He spun and ended the move he was working on and turned to Tea. She was glaring at him in disapproval. He squinted at her.

She quickly came up to him and grabbed his hands forcefully. "We're going to do partner dancing now." She said and he simply grunted in reply. Hand to hand dancing could be a challenge. _Let's see him be so perfect doing this_, she thought.

"If it's the waltz or ballroom dancing, I already know all that crap." He replied.

"No!" She exclaimed. _Dammit, change of plans_. "This is interpretive partner dancing. You make it up as you go, mixing in different styles."

"Russian roulette dancing. Hmm." He said and they went to it.

He led her through a simple waltz and she was having trouble keeping time, with no music. But he seemed to know it by pure memory and was doing a good job at it. It was pissing her off to no end –and Kaiba knew it too.

He spun her, and she fell back into his arms before she led him into a tango. They stepped down the sandy beach, and she was twirled –a wave of sand fluttering away from her bare feet.

He held her close and then tried a different ballroom dance that she was extremely rusty on. This was turning out to be a very bad idea.

Her face must have shown her aggravation, because he gave a small smirk.

"What's wrong? From what I could deduct, I'm doing perfectly fine." He replied and she huffed.

"That's the point." She growled as he led her across the beach in a series of steps and twirls.

He smirked. "I see. You're just upset that I'm such a fast learner."

"No! That's not what it is!" She exclaimed, but suddenly knew what sport he'd definitely be good at: darts. His aim was always right on target.

"You're easier to read than a Duel Monsters for Dummies book." He replied and she rolled her eyes. "And to think that here I am injured, and I'm still doing better than you. That is just priceless."

He dipped her so her hair almost brushed the sand itself, before pulling her back up a little too quickly, causing her to fall against him roughly. She pushed back slightly and regained her footing so they could continue their new waltz.

She grit her teeth. "Listen here, Kaiba, of course you're good at it! You're good at everything! It doesn't matter what you attempt to do, you're going to be the best!"

He spun on his heel and dipped her to the side and brought her back up again.

"That is of course, Duel Monsters... you never can seem to beat Yugi, even after Yami went away." Tea grumpily said, trying to go for his weak spot.

It worked. Kaiba's brow furrowed and his eyes went cold. His feet became a little more heavy and clunky.

"I _am_ the best at Duel Monsters, it just so happens that Yugi possesses some powerful cards that will soon be in my hands. Winning is all about possession, and right now I don't have the right cards. He only wins because of those cards. If I had them, I'd beat him quickly."

He missed a step and she raised an eyebrow and held onto his hand a little tighter as she began to lead the dance a little more, going slightly back to the tango.

"Possession doesn't make Yugi win. It's his ability to trust in his cards. You saw him, as well as me, beat Yami –who _possessed_ the Egyptian god cards. How do you explain that then?" She asked, and saw him squint his eyes a little more.

His direction was getting staggered and his actions were jerky and irregular. "You know, you're not really teaching me anything here." He replied and she frowned.

"Don't change the subject! We were talking about you not believing in the heart of the cards!"

He gave her a death glare as he dipped her again. This time he kept her down for a while. "Don't give me the 'heart of the cards' bullshit again. It's bad enough I have to hear it when the rest of you are all together."

"Just what is _that_ supposed to mean?" She scoffed as he brought her back up, but this time they didn't continue their 'dance' –they just stood there.

"It means just what it sounded like."

She frowned. She was hurt. "Of course! What was I _thinking_!" She threw her hands away from him and began to walk away. She huffed angrily to herself. To think, that she thought that Kaiba actually was starting to like her, and vise versa... what a bunch of bullshit indeed!

"Hold it!" He exclaimed. What was her problem? Well, whatever it was, he wasn't about to let her get the last word.

"I don't take orders from you!" She exclaimed and kept walking towards the tree line.

He sprinted after her and was by her side within seconds. He grabbed her wrist and spun her around and pinned her to a tree. "Just what in the hell is you problem?" He growled.

"My problem is that I thought that you actually considered me differently than you did before!" She glared up into his dark blue eyes. He just stood there, silent with a cold stare. "Didn't you say you wanted to protect me? Didn't you say that our last kiss _wasn't_ a mistake? Did any of that really mean _anything_ to you?" She prodded.

But he was silent and still, like a statue.

"I guess it didn't." She turned her head and began to duck under his arms that were pinned around her against the tree. She was leaving.

But... he stopped her.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Duke traveled into a city to see if he could find out any information. He traveled to the 'bad' part of town and into a dirty bar. He asked around, under the alias that he was anti-Kaiba Corp. He got nowhere, but someone did mention to him to head towards the coast.

He took their advice and traveled to the towns on the coast. He asked around there, but had no luck. That is, until he got to a small fisherman's town. He was in a bar when an old fisherman was telling the tale of how he had seen flying ships zoom over his head when he was at sea, headed towards the mainland.

"What did the ships look like?" Duke asked the old man.

"Y-you mean you believe me?" He asked, and Duke nodded.

"Of course."

"Well, they looked like fighter planes, but different, sleeker, and... sometimes they would shimmer and disappear from sight when the light hit 'em just right." He explained, and Duke nodded again.

"And you say they were coming from the ocean _towards_ the mainland?"

"Yes! Yes! They were." He said and Duke smiled.

"Hey, do you think you can take me along on your next trip out?"

"Sure, boy, I'm a headed out next mornin'! You're welcome to come, that is... if you don't mind pulling your weight while on board." He said and Duke's smile began to fade.

But he forced the smile and nodded once again politely. "That's great. Thankyou."

"Be ready to go bright an' early at 4 o'clock!"

Duke sweatdropped. "Right, I'll be there."

"What's your name by the way, city slicker?"

"Duke." He replied.

"Mine's Dan Tsukira. Now, don't be late!"

Duke shook his head. At least he was getting somewhere. Then he saw the old man drinking several beers. He'd better call the others; just in case he got lost at sea with this old Tsukira guy. This was turning out to be quite an interesting adventure. He tossed his gold dice he got from the others for his birthday.

They rolled on the bar and gave him snake eyes. He groaned. That was not a good sign.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Kaiba had stopped her from leaving by pressing her up against the tree roughly and planting a very intense kiss on her lips.

He made a noise in the back of his throat as he lifted her up and pinned her with his own body.

She trembled at the intensity of his kiss. He always seemed to surprise her whenever he kissed her. His kisses always popped out of nowhere –like something in him would suddenly snap and he would have his lips molding to hers in an instant.

Did she really have that effect on him? Inside, she felt kind of happy that she obviously did in fact seem to have an effect.

Her hands meandered their way up his neck to pull him closer. She tilted her head to delve deeper.

When his tongue brushed against her lips and then her own tongue, she shivered and wrapped her arms completely around his neck. One of his hands gripped her waist to hold her in place against the tree, and the other was still pinning her to the tree, his fingernails digging into the bark.

His lips were rough, and she winced at the fierceness. It was almost like he was putting in all his frustration and anger from their 'argument' into this passionate kiss. This one wasn't like the other two. It was so full of emotion that she found herself losing her balance and sense of what was up or down.

She was so dizzy that she felt she had to hold on tighter just to keep gravity on her side.

Just when she thought her lungs were about to explode he pulled away to catch his breath. But he immediately went to work on her neck. He kissed and licked her tender flesh. She shuddered and closed her eyes, letting the world spin and the sensations swirl within her.

She leaned into him and nuzzled his cheek and then bit his ear.

His grip tightened on her and he nipped her shoulder in response.

She smiled to herself. That was something else only she knew. He responded to that. That definitely had an effect on him. She bit her lip as his tongue brushed over the place he had nipped. And who knew that _he_ had such an effect on _her_...

* * *

_A/N: Well! I'm back! And school is officially done! YAY! Maybe now I'll update more often eh? Ha! How was the kiss scene? Good? I bet you all skipped over the mokuba and duke parts didn't you? I know you did! Anyway, and I made it long too! AND I left you all a special present at my webpage as a treat because it is the end of the school! hope you all like it. (find my webpage by going to my profile –and then on the page, go to the very bottom –you'll find it there!) anyway, uhhh... no review replies today –I'm wiped from school, sorry. It took all I had to push this out of me. anyway, gotta go. Sorry for the late update, but I hope all the extras made up for it! Okay, bye!_

_Oh yeah! At the end of the month I'm going to an anime convention in North Carolina... are any of you in that area? maybe we'll see eachother there! Give me a shout out if you are and I'll look out for you! bye!_


	14. All in Good Company

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

* * *

Chapter 14 – All in Good Company

* * *

"Wait." Tea demanded, surprisingly knocking them both off their feet.

_What am I insane_? she asked herself. She opened her eyes to see Kaiba pull away from her and give her a slightly upset/slightly confused look. He was breathing heavily and so was she.

"Explain 'wait' to me." He growled out, and she saw his arm muscles flex.

Tea didn't say anything, she was confused herself. There was something wrong, but she just couldn't... place it... oh yeah! "K-Kaiba. We were arguing." She simply said, and she saw a frown imbed its way to his forhead and eyebrows.

"Were." He echoed. Where was this leading?

"Y-you can't just shut me up by kissing me all the time!" She stammered out. She glared at him, stern in her accusation. "I know you Kaiba, you've found a way –a clever one I might add- to avoid my questions and to shut me up. Well, it's not gonna work any more. We are going to have a conversation – a real one!- with no," she coughed to herself, "interruptions."

"Fine." He said after a small pause. He pulled away from her and crossed his arms and then proceeded to stare at her.

"Well, first of all... this has been bugging me for a while but... why did you kiss me?"

"Which time?" He asked, his eyes grilling her, one eyebrow slightly raised.

She grit her teeth. He looked so damn calm and collected. It was the businessman in him. She hated that jerk. "How about just now."

"I don't-" He was interrupted.

"'-have to explain my reasons to you'. Yeah, I've heard it before." She rolled her eyes, but then saw that he was extremely aggitated.

"I bet you like being 'interrupted'." He said smoothly, his agitation replaced by calm and demeaning banter.

She scoffed and folded her arms too.

His attempt to veer the conversation so that he was in control was working.

He smirked. "I _bet_ you couldn't resist me for even a week."

She squinted. The bastard was being egocentric again. Dammit, why did she have to bring him back out? Maybe she should have just shut up and accepted the quiet -and encredibly good kisser- jerk. She huffed. "Well, I bet _you_ couldn't resist _me_ for even a week!"

He let out a small mocking laugh. "_Right_, Gardner. You don't know who you're talking to." And with that he turned and walked away.

She watched him go, determined to keep her mind straight from now on. This was Seto Kaiba she was stranded on a deserted island with; this wasn't supposed to be a dream vacation or even a nice getaway... this was hell.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

This was hell! Duke felt like he was going to throw up.

The small boat swayed with the waves as they headed further and further out to sea. If it was bad enough getting up in the morning, when it was still dark out, it was another to smell fish and smoke and –ugh- old man sweat.

"How ya holdin' up landluver?" Dan Tsukira asked, looking over at the boy who was sitting on the couch next to him on the pilot's deck.

"Okay, I guess." Duke replied, and got the courage to stand and look out the window. The ocean was slightly turbulent, with light clouds that were becoming brighter as the sun rose up.

"We're almost to the fishin' spot. Are you ready to do some work?"

"I suppose." Duke said and began to feel like he regretting coming out here.

Dan put Duke to work, hauling, pulling and tying lines and throwing nets. He mopped the deck, several times, and helped bring in a heap of fish from the cold water. After several hours of this, it was noon time, and he collapsed on a bench to get some rest.

"So, old man, where'd you see these ships anyway? Was it here?" He asked, and Dan nodded.

"Yeah, it was around here. Don't see any today though."

"Great." Duke mumbled and caught a can of beer that was thrown at him. "Uh, I'm a little young for this. You do know I'm only in high school."

"If you're in school, why are you out here then? Why are ya lookin' for them ships?"

"They're attacking a..." Duke paused, he was about to say 'friend'. Were the Kaiba's really their friends? He cleared his throat to started over. "They're attacking some colleagues of mine. I thought I'd help out and find where they're coming from."

"Strange how ya ended up out in the middle of the ocean then, huh?"

"Well, it would almost make sense, because it would provide a relatively secluded area and it would make it a hard place to track down." He said, almost thinking aloud. He unknowingly cracked open the beverage in his hand. "And with the ships cloaked, it makes it almost impossible to track where they're coming from, with a whole ocean to search in." He said, and took a long sip of his drink.

Then he choked and coughed. He spit it out and made a mess of the deck again. He groaned and handed the beer to Dan again.

"Forgot it was beer." Duke explained, still coughing.

Dan smirked and patted him roughly on the back. "It's alright, Dukie, you'll get used to it. Kids your age should be partying and having fun, drinking plenty of beers."

Duke winced. "First of all, that's not a very encouraging thing to say, and two... don't call me Dukie. The name's Duke. One syllable."

Before Dan could reply, his eyes got a faraway look and he squinted. Duke frowned. What was wrong? Was the guy gonna have a heart attack?

"I sees it!" He exclaimed and pointed up and behind him.

Duke spun and saw something silvery shimmer in the distance. He covered his brow and squinted as well. A low hum began to be heard, and it passed over their heads, high in the sky.

Duke watched it fly off away from them.

He turned and saw that Dan had out a compass. He pointed it in the direction the ship had come from. Duke half-smiled. The old guy was good, he had to admit.

"We sure are lucky we saw it, ain't we?" Dan asked Duke.

Duke nodded, and tossed his dice in the air and caught them. "We sure are."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Kaiba washed his hair and was walking back to the beach.

He thought about the girl he was stranded with. She had some nerve sometimes. Who did she think she was? Saying that his reasons for kissing her were simply a clever device he had created to shut her up.

Kaiba thought about it a minute. Ok, maybe it _was_ a clever device. She _did_ talk a lot. A lot.

But no matter what he kept telling himself, he genuinely felt the need to protect her. He didn't feel that way about anyone, except for Mokuba; and even he could take care of himself most of the time.

Kaiba frowned. He really missed Mokuba. And he was worried. So worried, that the very thought of Mokuba suffering because of himself, was making him sick to the stomach.

He tried to think about something else. Unfortunately, the only other thing to think about was Tea Gardner and their little bet.

This was going to be a piece of cake. He never lost a challenge, even though he had never experienced one like this before. He was still confident he would win, though. He'd find a way to make her crack.

The sooner he made her lose it, the sooner he could feel her mouth on his again; her skin against his...

"Gah!" Kaiba exclaimed and rubbed his forehead.

He was confused at his own thoughts. When did he begin to feel this way anyway? Maybe he was becoming insane by being trapped with only one other person, and it so happened to be a female... the same age as him... with a great body...

And it didn't make matters any worse that she responded to his forward nature. She hadn't once slapped him or refuse to kiss him back. That was strange. Did she really like him that much? Or did she just like kissing that much?

Did she kiss the others in her little 'gang-o-friends'? He shuddered at the thought of her kissing Joey or that other one. Or kissing Yugi... he growled low in this throat. He was becoming agitated.

He then stopped in his tracks, in the field before the treeline before the beach. Was he... _jealous_?

Why should he be! She certainly wasn't his _girlfriend_... he shook his head, trying to rid the thoughts of Gardner as being referred to as anything other than 'Yugi's cheerleader' to him. To consider her a girlfriend was worse than even calling her a 'friend' –and he didn't even think of her as that.

Then what _did_ he consider her?

He pondered a moment longer before coming to the conclusion that she was simply a person he was stranded with that he so happened to enjoy touching and kissing... on occasion.

Just then his stomach growled. Dammit, he was hungry.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Tea sat on the beach thinking of ways to avoid Kaiba. If she could just avoid him for a whole week, then she wouldn't be 'tempted' to promote physical contact.

She sighed angrily. It was always _him_ that seemed to promote contact between them. All three times they kissed, he was the one who started it. So she shouldn't have a problem. He was the one that was going to crack soon.

She was... pretty sure of it, maybe...

She heard sand swiff behind her, and a shadow soon passed over her.

Just the person she was trying to avoid.

She turned her head slightly and saw that he was glaring at her expectantly.

"What?" She snapped, and stood up to face him.

He reached out with both arms and held onto her shoulders and began to push her backwards. He forced her back and into the ocean.

"What are you doing!" She exclaimed and Kaiba just stood there, both of them waist high in the water. "Why are we standing out here in the ocean?"

"I was hungry." He said, and she frowned. She felt his hands flex slightly on her bare shoulders. She looked up at him, but saw that he was looking away from her and out into the open ocean, as if suddenly interested in a particular cloud in the sky.

She felt one of his thumbs gently rub against her skin, and she couldn't help but shiver. She blamed it immediately on the cold water. One of her eyes ticked.

She knew what he was doing! He was trying to crack her! He was doing this on purpose, the bastard.

She pushed his hands away, and tried to go back to shore. "Why would you bring me all the way out here, just because you were hungry? You're going crazy, Kaiba, I mean OW!" She yelped and hopped in the shallow water.

She hopped in a circle, reaching into the water, trying to grab whatever was attacked to her big toe.

Kaiba calmly waded over towards her and plucked her out of the water, carrying her in his arms to shore. He dumped her on the sand and knelt down next to her and proceeded to take the crab off her foot.

Tea huffed, angry at Kaiba, even though she was in pain. "How'd you know it'd do that?"

"I told you before, you're good bait." He replied but then the crab scurried from his grip and scuddled down the beach. He cursed and chased after it. But so did Tea.

She got on one side, and he got on the other, and they moved side to side trying to catch it. Kaiba lunged, but it ran under Tea's legs and she scrambled around to chase it again.

Kaiba got up and continued, determined to catch the elusive beast.

When they thought they had it cornered again, they both jumped at it and their hands both landed on the crab's back, pinning it in the sand. Tea smiled in triumph. She looked over at Kaiba, who was down with her, his hands entertwined with her own against the struggling crab.

She pulled away and Kaiba held onto the crab in the sand.

She watched and winced as he slammed it against a rock and knocked it either out or dead.

He glared over at her and then his eyes trailed down her legs and to the cut where the crab had latched onto her foot. She saw that look of mischief in his eyes. Who knew that she would ever see the mischievous side of Kaiba? But somehow that didn't comfort her; she knew what he was getting at.

"Don't even think about it. These are new clothes, Kaiba, you aren't going to-" She screamed as he swiftly grabbed her and tore at the bottom part of her shirt. She pushed him away, but he wasn't finished ripping the fabric, and she ended up tumbling ontop of him.

His hands had braced themselves around her waist, his fingers tangled in the torn fabric of her shirt. Her hands were on the scruff of his collar, and their faces were inches apart.

She was so close that her hair brushed the sides of his cheeks. They were silent, in their little akward position. He shifted under her and one of his knees raised to move against her hip.

The single movement made Tea lose her train of thought and she was suddenly finding herself lost in those deep blue eyes of his. But she had to stay strong! Somehow...

He almost cursed aloud. This was the very thing he was trying to avoid! But he could feel her bare skin against his knuckles and fingertips; not to mention the position they were in. She was so close, all he had to do was merely close the two inches and he would taste her.

The stubborn, competitive Kaiba came out though. He would not be the one to lose the 'bet' here. He would win this and he would make her kiss him before the week was done.

She must have been thinking the same thing, because she finally pushed off him. She stood and brushed herself off and finished ripping the material of her shirt off and she went off to bandage her foot alone.

Kaiba smirked. He saw the blush on her face she was trying to hide.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Mokuba enjoyed it when Serenity came over. She provided a comfort that he was missing at the moment. She was someone he considered a friend. And he needed a friend desperately at the moment.

With Seto still missing, and having to bear the responsibilities, Mokuba needed someone.

Serenity had just left for home. It was strange to suddenly not have her there. He settled down in a large couch and turned on a television to see the news.

They were talking about Kaiba corp, of course. He sighed and turned it off. He shut his eyes, tired from the day. Just when he thought was about to doze off to sleep, there was a large crash and he heard the now all too familiar sounds of blasts of artillery.

The room shook and he looked up. The ceiling cracked and then the roof fell down ontop of him.

* * *

_A/N: Hey everyone! I updated! It's amazing! Not much more than angst for the two in this chapter, and please, everyone –calm down about Mokuba. It's not as bad as it sounded –okay, maybe it was, but still... you'll just have to wait. Anyway, uhhh, hope you all enjoyed. I hope everyone continues to review as diligently as you have been. I appreciate it so much, and I hope everyone will continue to do so. The reviews are what keeps me going. You all are some of the reason why I enjoy writing this. the other reason is my own personal enjoyment anyway, uhhh, sorry again for the lateness, but I was working on a Fruba (fruits basket) amv, and I was really into it. My next amv project will be 'lifestyles of the rich and famous' done to the one and only Seto Kaiba! LOL! It should be fun! Wish me luck at my convention, I'm gonna try to sell a pic I did of Kaiba with no shirt on! droooooooooool_


	15. Place Your Bets

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

* * *

Chapter 15 – Place Your Bets

* * *

Seto Kaiba awoke in the middle of the night –a bad feeling clouding his dreams and turning them into nightmares. He grunted and rubbed his eyes and then sat up from the bed of leaves next to the fire he had made.

The fire was dwindling low, a few embers highlighting his surroundings, the faint glare from the moon filtering through the treeline of palms. He looked down at his hands, and was very surprised to see them slightly shaking.

What had he dreamed of? He couldn't remember. He fisted his hands and settled back down on the ground. He closed his eyes to fall back asleep.

He was nearly back asleep when he began to have that bad feeling again. He felt so restless.

He turned on his side and grunted. He sighed and rolled again, unable to get comfortable. Before he knew it, he rolled again, but this time his back collided with something else warm and soft –but still firm enough to keep him from rolling again.

He forced his eyes open from their heavy lidden, sleep-deprived state and looked behind him.

There she was –simply sleeping next to him; Gardner... with her back to him, sleeping.

She must have gotten up and sleepwalked her way over. She definitely wasn't awake anymore. He was amazed she made her way around the fire and to him without him noticing. As tired as he truly was, he sighed and laid back down, his back hesitantly resting against hers.

When the warmth spread from her own back to his, their body heat shared, he relaxed. Something about this whole thing calmed him completely; and for a split second he didn't try to make up some excuse as to why he felt that way.

The bet they had made was temporarily forgotten as sleep overtook him again, and his dreams this time weren't as restless as they had been.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Yugi and the gang all headed to the hospital in the morning when they found out that Mokuba Kaiba was in the hospital. Serenity looked particularly worried, as they headed over in Mai's car. Somehow they all managed to fit.

When they got there, they rushed up to the VIP section. Roland recognized them and let them in to see the younger Kaiba. Roland didn't look too good either; with his arm in a cast. They opened the door to Mokuba's room, they all sucked in a worried and horrified breath.

The boy was bandaged all around his head and both his arms. One of his legs was hanging out of his bed sheet with a large wrapped bandage around his thigh. From the look on his sleeping face, he was in pain.

Serenity rushed to his side and patted his hand. His eyes flickered open and slowly focused on the people around him. "Mokuba! You're awake!" Serenity exclaimed and tears formed in her eyes.

He simply nodded, his throat too sore to talk. He smiled weakly to let them know he felt better than he looked. Everyone smiled nervously back. The poor little guy looked horrible.

Roland came into the room too and looked sadly at his young master. "Sir. The mansion's almost completely gone. They started to target the main headquarters in the city as well. Not much is left." He reported, and the boy simply nodded, keeping silent.

"Were any people in those buildings hurt?" Tristan asked, concerned. They had all seen the devastation on the television that morning.

"No casualties –only injuries." Roland reassured them.

Mokuba smiled briefly; some good news.

"Whoever is doing this is a madman. He has to be stopped!" Mai interrupted, her anger getting the better of her. Seeing everyone in so much pain was horrible to witness.

"The have no idea who's doing it Mai, they haven't been able to track them on anyting." Serenity cut in. most were surprised she even knew that information –but then again, she had been spending a lot of time over at the Kaiba's and in Mokuba's company.

"When'd we last hear from Duke?" Joey asked, turning to Yugi, trying to steer the conversation so it wasn't so stressful. Joey might have acted like an idiot most of the time, but when it came to his sister, he knew when she was at her rope's end.

"Last I heard from him –he was headed out into the ocean for some reason with some guy to go after a clue. That was a day ago, though. I don't know where he is now. I haven't heard back from him, and his cell phone is out of area." Yugi said, and everyone was silent again.

Yugi hoped, for all of their sakes –especially Mokuba's- that Duke solved the mystery, and soon.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Duke and Dan found themselves face to face with a mechanical island within hours of going in the direction of the fighter. Duke blinked a few times to be sure he was seeing it correctly.

It was huge! A skyscraper in the middle of the ocean, staying upright miraculously.

They approached slowly, their engine on low. So far, the perimeter defenses didn't seem to be operational –which was a very good thing.

Duke noticed a sentry gun eroded away and rusted, obviously not working. A few seagulls perched on the guns that probably once held back intruders such as themselves.

Dan managed to 'dock' inside a small port. Inside the small port, seagulls flew around noisily and swooped down close to their boat.

Dan tied the boat to a large gun that was covered in bird droppings. "Well. We're here."

Duke nodded. "This place sure is a bucket of rust. There's no doubt this is where the fighters are coming from, but I don't think anyone lives here. This place doesn't seem functional anymore." Duke replied as they strode to what looked like a stairwell.

They went up the stairs and finally, after getting exhausted from all the steps, reached the top. Duke pushed open the rusty door with a loud creak and groan from the old metal. The room was dark, but he could see a few lights blinking.

Duke slowly walked and went up a small platform, and suddenly the floor beneath him lit up with flickering lights. There was a loud hum as old machines continued to power themselves.

Dan came up to stand next to him and they stared at the consoles.

"It's military kid, can't you tell." Dan replied.

Duke frowned. "Military?"

"Yeah. Were these friends of yours enemies of a military?"

Duke thought a moment and remembered back to the virtual world they had all been trapped in. Didn't they find out that Kaiba Corp used to be a weapons manufacturer for militaries? "I think they were. I believe they sold military weapons, if I'm correct."

"Hmm. Being in that kind of business can bring a lot of allies, but a lot of enemies too."

"Yeah." Duke said, slowly and carefully brushing off dust from the controls. He found a read-out screen with a list of 'wings' that were in operation. About half of them were highlighted in red and were blinking 'destroyed'. The others were in green and read 'operational'.

"Dukie, you better come take a look at this one!" Dan exclaimed, and Duke tried to refrain from hitting the old man for calling him that again.

He leaned in and saw the screen. It listed a mission in progress. His eyes widened. The mission was cleared labeled: destroy Kaiba Corporation and all Kaiba inheritants.

Before Dan or himself could say anything else, there was a loud bang behind them.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Tea awoke and smiled faintly. Why was she smiling? she wondered as she stirred from sleep. She felt warm, particularly her back. She shifted her weight and moved her hips back, but she hit something... and it grunted.

She froze. Was she... sleeping _next_ to him? When'd that happen?

Alright, she _did_ remember a little bit from last night. She remembered Kaiba making noise across the fire. He was grunting and sighing a lot. She kept hearing the leaves of his makeshift bed rustle around. It was getting distracting, and it was keeping her from sleep.

She had wanted to just get up and clobber him upside the head with a stick until he was quiet, but she didn't remember much after that. She assumed she drifted back to sleep. But apparently, that was not what had happened.

Somehow she had to get away from this akward position before he woke up and yelled. She slowly began to roll the opposite way.

She rolled a few times, now on the sand, continuing her escape. She had rolled several times before she noticed that he supposed escape was not as discreet any more.

Kaiba was fully awake, turned around, propped up with his right hand and staring at her.

She stopped her rolling and dared to look him in the eyes. Big mistake.

Even though his eyes looked tired, they were clear and only slightly droopy. But his hair was all mussled and a healthy stubble has gathered on that perfectly chiseled chin of his. Laying down like that, with his arm supporting his head, he looked so carefree –so unlike himself. For some reason, to Tea, he never looked sexier.

Big mistake _indeed_. She felt hotter under his un-blinking gaze.

"What are you doing?" He finally broke the slightly pleasant silence.

"S-stretching." She said nervously and reached out her arms and arched her back into the sand.

Kaiba had to bite his tongue to keep from thinking bad things. The way her shirt rode up past her belly to her ribs when she stretched, and the way her hips were slightly peeking out from those loose pants, was enough to make his mind go into hibernation and his hormones awaken from a frozen, carbonite prison.

When she finished stretching –or pretending to stretch- she turned back over to Kaiba to see that he had his back to her again. Maybe he was still tired.

She stood up and brushed the dirt from her body and proceeded to head towards the water cove.

After she left, Kaiba sat back up and rubbed his head. He needed to clear his mind –he had to be vigil about all this. He wouldn't lose the bet –he never lost to anything. Well, maybe that wasn't entirely true. He _had_ lost to Yugi quite a number of times.

He tossed a stone into the dead fire causing the wood to crackle.

For a moment he thought again to his 'situation' both being stranded on a deserted island, and a bad feeling he kept having about Mokuba. For some reason he had a bad feeling that something was wrong with him. He was worried.

He remembered some things from his dreams last night –and most concerned Mokuba or being crushed alive under large stone pillars. He shivered at the thought that Mokuba could be hurt; and he hadn't been there to protect him.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Mokuba lay in bed, the painkillers making him drowsy. All the others had left, even Serenity, and he was now alone.

He thought about his brother. He was so worried about him. The more he thought about it, the sadder his heart would get. And with each passing day, and no sign of him returning, he felt like a part of him died.

Taking care of an entire company as well was no better on his 'childhood' or his inexperienced nerves.

He still felt numb from the recent attacks that left his body in bandages. He was in pain, but it didn't matter much compared to what he was lacking in his heart.

His most terrible nightmares had all seemed to come true. His brother was gone, Kaiba Corp was in ruine, his home was demolished, and the Kaibalands were doing horribly due to recent events. He had no one, nothing, no place.

He had promised he would not cry anymore, but as he fell back into a tumultuous slumber, tears streaked down his cheeks.

* * *

_A/N: Well... everyone. I have some bad news. I can usually take criticism pretty well –especially when it's constructive and informative... but after receiving them for EVERY single one of my fanfics –all at the same time -it is a little too hard on my nerves. I don't like getting criticsm –and I know, I should damn well get used to it, and well, this is fanfiction where others review –so I'm practically asking for it right? Well, due to recent events in my life, and a stressful time both at home and work (and school)---I'm not going to update anything until I'm in a better mood. And who knows when that'll be. Go ahead, write a nasty review yelling at me that I'm being immature and whatnot, that's fine. I'm not reading my fanfic emails anymore either. Well, gotta go. _


	16. D & D

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

* * *

Chapter 16 – D & D

* * *

Duke and Dan had involuntarily grabbed onto eachother after the crash behind them startled them both. They looked around for the source. Maybe there _was_ people still here. It could be any number of things: 

An evil, white haired phychopath carrying gold bling, or a biker band of spiky haired freaks with red glowing eyes and green rings with soul-sucking powers, mummies awakened from their graves bent on killing, a kid from their school whom they thought was seemingly ordinary but turned out to be an evil reincarnation of an Egyptian sorcerer, or even a crazed Cyclops with a funny voice and a flamboyant wardrobe...

After experiencing such people as mentioned before, Duke nearly fell to the ground when he saw the source of their anxiety.

A seagull hopped around from behind some consoles and pecked at it's wing and then squawked at them. Dan clapped his hands and the bird scurried out the room.

Duke walked up to the console where the bird had been and stared at the back. The wires were all chewed and disfigured. Duke then went to the screen where the mission screen was. He looked at the back, and saw that the wires were all mangled there too.

"It couldn't be that simple." Duke replied as he took a seat in an old, rusty office chair.

Dan scratched his head. "What?"

Duke turned the chair, with a loud creak, and looked at the main console. He tentatively pressed some buttons and then with a final press of the enter key –the console glowed green and the mission said it was completed and it was ready for the next one to be issued.

Duke blinked and just stared at the screen. Surely it would go into self-destruct mode or something. Surely it would ask for a passcode. Surely it wasn't so simple as this!

Duke gave a small chuckle, then slowly he worked up to a full-fledged hysterical laughing fit.

"Gee, boy, what's wrong with you?" Dan asked and Duke just laughed some more and waved his hand. "What is it? Did we do right?"

Duke managed a weak nod as he regained his composure. "Yeah. We did right." Duke replied, and then turned back to the computer to find the log sceen list. It listed all last known commands that it was given.

Duke saw a date of activation for the last mission filed. He recognized that date. It was during the end of Battle city, when they were all stuck inside the virtual world of Noa Kaiba.

This place must have beena weapons facility, and as a last resort, Gozaboro must have activated the 'ship' and gave it a new mission before he was destroyed forever.

But something had happened, and for a long while, the last command to officially start the mission had not been fully given. So the mission sat on stand-by for quite some time.

Then Duke saw a date, which had been just recently, when the attacks on Kaiba Corp. had begun during their tournament on the boat. There was a malfunction in several computers and consoles, and somewhere along the line a wire had been chewed that allowed the last activation code be bypassed, and the mission started where it had left off when Gozaboro first started it.

That was also why it hadn't asked him for an activation code or password when he turned it off. Obviously the security systems were shut down when those wires were damaged.

Duke let out a big sigh and closed his eyes for a moment. He did it. He actually did it. He must have been smirking, because Dan gave a small chuckle.

"I'll assume that this is a good thing. Will your friends be alright?"

Duke nodded. "Yeah. In some areas if not others." Duke replied a little more solemnly than he liked. Even though Kaiba Corp was now safe from attacks, as well as Mokuba... they were still missing some things that were very important...

Tea Gardner and Seto Kaiba himself.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

So far so good... kinda. It had been two days since they made their little 'bet'. She only had five more days. That'd be just fine. Sure.

Avoidance. It was easy, wasn't it? This was a big island for just two people.

She walked around the perimeter of the island, not really doing anything but collecting shells here and there. She found a real pretty white one with a little blue on the edges. That one was definitely a keeper.

She kept heading down the coastline, and got to a grove of coconut trees. There were several up the tree and she stared at it as her stomach growled. Without her human ladder around, she'd have to brave it alone.

She jumped over a mud hole and looked up. Maybe if she threw some sticks up at them. She reached down and found a thick stick and tossed it up at the coconuts.

She didn't throw hard enough. The branch came falling down back at her. She squealed and dodged out of the way, hugging the tree. That was close. Well, maybe she could try again, but this time be sure not to have the branch fall near her.

She reached down and absently fingered a large log. But it was wet and a little soft. Maybe it had been sitting in water too long. It wouldn't budge. It was heavy! Maybe it was too big of a log. She looked down and saw that it wasn't a log at all, but a snake!

"AHHH!"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Kaiba was trying to get in an afternoon nap when he heard a loud scream in the distance. He sat up and looked towards the direction he thought he had heard it.

"Kaibaaa! Ahh!" He heard her scream from a little ways away.

He stood and walked quickly to where he heard her screaming. He went a long ways, following a scream here and there. Where was she and what was her problem this time?

He reached a cluster of trees near the beach and almost stepping in a large muddy puddle.

"Kaiba!" He heard her, but didn't see her. "Up here Kaiba!" She exclaimed, frustrated, and he finally looked over and up to see Tea up a coconut tree, barely hanging on to the thin trunk. "Kaiba! Kaiba! Snake!"

He frowned and looked down and saw a large snake wrapped partially around the trunk of the tree, but not paying her any mind. Kaiba saw that it didn't have the markings to be poisonous, but was still probably a constrictor, considering its size.

"You really have a way of _attracting predators_." He replied, almost hitting himself for the _way_ he said it. She obviously didn't catch the hint of irony in his voice because she screamed again.

"Kaiba help me! It's a snake!"

"It's not poisonous." He replied.

"I don't care! Kaiba! Ah! I'm slipping!"

Kaiba looked around and picked up a large rock and flung it half heartedly at the snake. It worked, and the snake was spooked and began to slither away. When he was sure it was gone, he walked closer to the tree and looked up at Tea.

She looked so ridiculously cute the way she clung to the tree, her knees trembling, her bottom lip shaking as her teeth chattered, and the way her frantic breathing caused her cheeks to flush. Wait a minute... did he just say she looked cute? Surely not.

"Get down already." Kaiba replied, trying to shake his thoughts.

"I-I'm scared." She said softly.

"You're pathetic. Just climb down."

"I-I-I... will you catch me?" She asked in a sweet, but shaky voice.

"What kind of a question is that? You've been around me enough to know by now."

"You'll do it?" She asked hopefully.

"No!" He exclaimed and began to walk away.

"Wait! Kaiba! Hold on... ah!" She had tried to reach out involuntarily, but in the process, lost her grip on the tree and began to fall through the air down towards Kaiba.

He turned just in time to catch her. But the force was too strong, and they fell backwards and into the large puddle of mud together.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Dan looked over at Duke again. "So, what now?"

"I suppose we need to contact the others as soon as possible. Let's go see if my cell phone will work. Or maybe you could call out on your radio." Duke said, and they both nodded in agreement.

As they stood to leave, there was another scuffling, and they turned and saw several seagulls hop around the floor, behind the consoles. One flapped its wings and stepped on a loose wire and pulled it from its place.

Suddenly a computer voice and a loud blazing alarm sounded. "Warning! Warning! Intruders! Unauthorized access! Self destruct activated! Warning!"

"I guess that means the security systems are back up!" Dan exclaimed as they both now ran towards the stairwell.

"Yeah I guessed that too!" Duke yelled behind him as they hauled ass down the stairs. "Hurry up old man!"

"Don't call me old man, Dukie!"

"And don't call me Dukie! Ah!" Duke screamed as they heard explosions from above.

They reached the hanger and were shot at by lasers, but they were so rusted, they were missing them, but barely. Mostly they were just making a lot of fires. They jumped on the boat and Dan went to start the engine as Duke untied the rope keeping them attatched.

The engine roared to life and Duke dodged a laser bolt as he hopped onto the boat as it began to speed out to open sea. There were more explosions, and Duke got to the captain's deck, when they finally cleared the skyscraper ship.

Duke looked back to see the old base exploding from the inside, and crumbling down into the dark waters below. Then there was a bright light and the entire structure went up in a giant explosion that sank the building within seconds.

Duke shook his head. "Damn seagulls." He growled as the ship was suddenly bombarded with heavy waves and strong winds with fluttering feathers from the once troublesome birds.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Kaiba sat there for a moment, his arm aching slightly from where he landed on it wrong. He dared to open his eyes to see what mess he had ended up in this time.

He looked down and saw he was covered in mud and other various debris –including a squirming teenage girl named Tea Gardner. She was half on him, half in the mud herself.

"Ow, sorry." Tea apologized as she sat up from him. She glared up at him, and the look on his face was almost priceless.

He definitely looked mad, but there was something else there; like he wanted to smirk, but would dare do it in front of her and in this type of situation. A piece of a tree branch was sticking out from his head.

She giggled, even though her body was sore, she reached over and pulled it from his hair. She yanked hard on the stick, but it obviously caught on a knot and his head was jerked to the side.

"Gah! Stop it!" Kaiba exclaimed, and grabbed her hand to stop her from pulling.

"No, let me help." She said, trying to hold back her laughter. A thick piece of a mud cluster was dripping down his cheek.

"I can do-" He was cut off as he growled in pain as she simply pulled really hard on the stick and it ripped from his head, pulling along several hairs in the process.

He gripped his head and then glared over at her. He was trying to give her the most deadly glare he could ever produce, but she was only laughing.

She was cut off this time as he pushed her shoulder back so she landed back into the mud with a loud and hearty splash. She growled in annoyance and pushed filthy hair from her eyes and squinted at the now smirking Kaiba.

He tried to stand up, but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Hold it mister! You're not getting away that easily!" She exclaimed and pulled him back in.

"Gardner! Cut it out!" He exclaimed, trying to sound as menacing as possible, but somehow that didn't have an effect on her anymore. He wondered for a brief second why that was.

"C'mon, at least call me Tea, you called me that on Kiyo's boat." She replied, struggling with his arms as they rolled around in the mud.

Kaiba frowned. Did he really call her by her first name? His mind made a flashback to that time they had been drugged on that bastard's boat. Crap... he really _had_ called her that. He hadn't even thought twice about it before. Even though Kaiba wouldn't admit it, he was acting a lot differently on this island than he ever did before.

Kaiba pushed away from her a moment. "I'm surprised you even remember that. As a fact, I believe we were being _drugged_ at the time. I was probably just delirious." He stated, trying to purposefully rile her up. If they would just argue, then his mind wouldn't betray him so much.

"Hm, really? Delirious? I see." She said simply, but her expression had a hint of teasing sarcasm.

His plan wasn't quite working. "Just what is that supposed to mean?" He asked as he watched her stand, mud dripping down those long thin legs of hers... dammit!

"It means just what it sounded like." She said, mocking and throwing his own words back at him. She turned and climbed the rest of the way out of the mud hole.

He got up right after her and they stood facing eachother in silence for a moment. He said nothing. She said nothing more. He tried not to look at her.

He turned his direction to further in the island.

She looked after him; she was thinking the same thing he was.

Then they both began to walk towards the water hole.

"Where are you headed? I'm going there first! Ladies first!" She huffed, trying to keep up with his quick stride.

"Hmm." He grumbled angrily as he tried to walk faster.

"Excuse me! I _am_ a lady!" She replied and practically had to run to keep him in sight. When she finally did reach his side, they were already at the waterhole. Before she could retort again that she should go first, Kaiba had grabbed her by the waist and flung her in.

He followed close behind her. He swam a little ways away and began to scrub off the mud. He dunked his head in the water and bobbed back up to see that Tea was beginning to take off her shirt.

He felt his cheeks burn, and something in his gut ached. He turned around and focused his attention on the waterfall. Then he decided to take off his shirt as well.

Tea watched as he took off his shirt and began to clean and wring it out. He had wrung it for the third tiem before she caught herself staring blankly at him. She spun around and began to count the number of lines in a particular boulder in front of her.

Only when she was sure all the dirt was off her, did she dare to look back over her shoulder. Kaiba was scrubbing at his head, his arms high above the water's surface, dripping down his arms and muscles. His eyes were closed, and he had a determined look on his face, as if he were thinking too hard. He looked really good –much like that time she saw him bathing before.

She bit her lip. The anticipation was getting to her. It hadn't even began, and already she was considering destroying that bet; burning it to a crisp!

Wait a minute... was he doing this on purpose? Was he trying to make her think this way? Well, if he was, two could play at that game.

Tea huffed loudly, just enough to get his attention, as she splashed water at her torso and then shook her head to let the water fly from her hair. She played with her hair a bit, ruffling it and pushing it up, while purposely sticking out her body from the water.

She peeked sneakily over at him. He wasn't even looking over!

Kaiba saw his hands slightly shaking as he completely wrung out his shirt for the hundredth time. He didn't know why they were doing that, and it certainly _was_ against his will. He had caught a glimpse of her toiling with her wet hair and it had almost made him lose his control.

But of course, he was always in control. All he had to do was simply not look at her.

He placed his shirt back on and proceeded to get out of the water.

Tea watched him as he went. He was a tough one to crack. Then again, so was she. She'd find a way. Oh, she would definitely find a way... because even with the satisfaction of winning, she was also craving his touch again, and the sooner the bet was over, the better.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Mokuba woke up late in the day and didn't feel much better. He didn't have much sleep anyway, and even if he did, he would dream horrible nightmares over and over again. His body ached as he tried to sit up and reach for a glass of water.

He sipped on the cool liquid and it felt good going down his throat.

He was startled as there was a frantic knocking on his door. He set back down the water and frowned as the knocking continued. "Enter." He finally said, and Roland came bursting through the door and he ran up to Mokuba holding a cell phone.

"Master Mokuba, it's an urgent call from Mr. Devlin. He insisted to speak only to you directly, and that it's an emergency!" Roland handed him the phone.

Mokuba feared the worse, dreading the news of another attack headed their way. He spoke into the phone, trying to sound calm and collected. "Hello? This is Mokuba." He paused a moment and frowned. "Speak up, your reception is bad." Mokuba waited another few moments. "That's better. Oh, you're still at sea? How-" He was obviously cut off as he listened.

Roland was anxious. He hoped it was good news. He heard how frantic Mr. Devlin had sounded on the phone. He could even hear him now, loud on the phone, even across the room. but he couldn't make out what he was saying.

"What!" Mokuba exclaimed loudly. "I... I... when? Really? That's... wonderful! Duke! Are you alright? The whole thing exploded? Gozaboro? Seagulls? Are you sure? Wow... Duke, this is great news! I don't know what to say... Thankyou thankyou thankyou! I-I'll talk to you later. Bye!"

Mokuba smiled brightly, looking much more like the kid he was. He was in silence for a while, just staring ahead as he smiled, tears welling in his eyes.

"Master Mokuba? Good news?" Roland asked, even though it was obvious it was.

There was a pause and Mokuba closed his eyes and leaned back. "Yes. Good news." He opened his eyes and looked over to Roland. "Go tell my friends that Duke found and destroyed the place that was attacking us. Kaiba Corp doesn't need to worry anymore."

"Yes sir!" Roland took the phone and took off out of the room to make some phone calls.

Mokuba chuckled softly and then looked out the window. His smile faded slightly. There was still something that had yet to hear any good news from... and that was his brother's whereabouts. He was still lost; maybe dead... and Mokuba missed him dearly.

* * *

_A/N: OMG! I'm back! Happy 4th of July 2005 everyone! Is this a nice present or what? Anyway, I would like to thank everyone out there who stuck with me and gave me lots of support over my little 'problems'. Work is going a little better (which was a lot of my stressfulness) and I have erased most of those who 'flamed' me. But even so... I acted a little immature I know, but I just needed a break, and I kinda lost it after a stressful time at work and at home -and then that just was the last straw, you know? Well, anyway, I'm back and I hope you all continue to review and keep me feeling good -b/c I consider all who support me as good friends and I hope you will bear with me through my issues. Oh yeah! And I updated my webpage, so check it out. there's a link in my profile to it. If you guys haven't noticed before, I did a picture for this story of Kaiba and Tea's first kiss! And also there is a pic of kaiba with no shirt on! full color! please check it out! they're all on my webpage. Also look for spoilers to my fanfics!anyway, I've talked too long. see you all hopefully soon._ PLEASE REVIEW! 


	17. Avoiding and Awaiting

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

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Chapter 17 – Avoiding and Awaiting

* * *

It had been a few days, but already Mokuba had his people working on rebuilding Kaiba Corp, as well as the mansion. He was currently stationed at an expensive hotel –the top floor his suite and also office. He had been released from the hospital, on the orders to just take it easy the next few weeks.

But that was a hard thing to do, with all the work he had to do on the rebuilding.

Duke was coming in today to give him the details of exactly what happened. He really didn't care too much, as long as no more attacks were going to happen. But a part of him still wanted to know the entire situation.

There was a buzz on his intercom at his small desk near the big windows of the hotel. He pressed it to receive the message. "Sir, there is a Mr. Devlin and... company here to see you." Said the woman at the front desk of the hotel over the intercom.

"That's fine, send them up." He replied and shifted his arm in it's bandage. It was sore, but alright. The girl had said 'and company'. He wondered if Serenity was there with them. He hoped she was. Over the last few months, she had become a great friend, almost like an older sister.

There was a ding as the elevator reached his floor, and there was a knock on his door, and he pressed a button and let them in.

Sure enough, Duke came in, along with Serenity, Mai, Joey, Tristan, and Yugi. "Hey everyone!" He exclaimed, and everyone brightened to see the boy's spirits a little better than they had witnesses before.

"Mokuba!" Serenity exclaimed a little too loudly and ran around the desk to give him a big hug, since he couldn't stand without his crutches. She pulled back and smiled happily.

He turned back to the others.

Joey looked slightly perturbed, but was hiding it with much effort as he tried to stay civil in front of the younger Kaiba; because he knew the little guy had been through enough that he didn't need to hear older brother rantings about staying away from his sister.

Tristan was smiling too, as was Yugi and Mai. Duke had a small smirk and was acting like the leader of the group, standing ahead of them, leaning slightly on his desk.

"So, Duke." Mokuba looked over at the green-eyed dice boy. "Tell me everything."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Tea was nervous. She didn't know how to feel. Here it was, the end of the week, and the end of the bet, and neither of them had made a move, or even looked like they were going to make a move. Tomorrow would be the end of seven days. And this day was almost over too!

The week had been miserable and frustrating, in her view of things. They'd bicker more than they'd actually talk. It seemed like their 'frustration' over their bet was making them irritable.

And to top it all off, they had even managed not to touch eachother; not even a single bit of physical contact. It was like they were both avoiding it; like the other was poisonous or something.

Tea sighed loudly across the fire pit from Kaiba. He had just gotten the fire started. The lighter had lost all its fluid a while back, and now he had managed to make fire out of some sticks and grass. He was quite talented, she had to admit; for being who he was an all.

She sighed again.

"Quit it. It's getting annoying." He commanded from across the fire, as he chewed on some coconut rinds.

She squinted again. Bickering; was that all they ever did anymore? She huffed and stood. She couldn't stand to be near him at the moment.

Storming off, in the dark, she mumbled to herself about Kaiba being a jerk. She was too busy with her thoughts on the certain guy she occupied the island with, that she didn't notice a large branch ahead of her.

She growled, thinking about what she ever saw in him to make him remotely attractive. Well, he was devilishly handsome, and good god –was he a good kisser... she stumbled on a fallen branch and fell down, twisting her ankle.

She cursed. That was the last thing she needed. She was supposed to be graceful; dancers almost never got twisted ankles, right? Maybe not...

She tried to stand, but her foot buckled and she fell down in the sand again. She looked down in the dim light from the now-far away fire and inspected her leg. She rubbed her ankle and hissed in pain. It didn't look too bad.

There was a sudden gust of wind and it chilled her. A storm was coming? They hadn't had one in a while, and they were overdue for one.

She looked out into the ocean and saw some flashes of light from lightning in the distance. They had been there long enough to know when a storm was approaching. And the clouds that afternoon had looked a little dark.

To her surprise, she saw Kaiba walking down the beach towards her. He got to her side in no time and frowned.

"We need to get in the shelter. The storm's coming." He said and saw she looked away from him. He turned away from her, not wanting to put up with her either, and headed back to the fire and the small shelter he had built before.

When she didn't follow he turned back around and saw her struggling to stand up. But she fell back down in the sand and growled in anger. He walked back over to her and looked down at her.

"Do you need help?" He asked.

"No! I'm fine! I just hurt my ankle a little. I'll be there in a minute." She paused and sat there, waiting for him to leave. When he didn't she looked up at him with angry blue eyes. His eyes were equally as piercing.

She huffed and struggled to stand, and when she did, she lifted her injured leg and hopped on her good one to keep from falling over. And to make matters worse, he was just standing there, staring at her as she did all this. Was this amusing him? She glared at him and noticed his trademark smirk. He was; that pissed her off.

She tried to hop her way across the sand, not making it a foot before she fell to her knees again. She puffed at the sand by her face and felt her cheeks burn. Great, she was embarrassing herself in front of him. And he wasn't doing anything to help her. Well, she had refused his help after all. Maybe she was just afraid of his very touch.

Before she could attempt to stand again, she felt those very hands she had been avoiding and awaiting touch her waist and turn her over. He swiftly picked her up in his arms and carried her back.

His very touch made her throbbing ankle seem meaningless. Even though his behavior was cold, his body was warm, especially his hands that were wound around her back and under her knees.

Just as they went inside the makeshift tent-hut it began to rain. Kaiba let go of her legs and let them slide carefully down to the ground. When he was sure she was stable he released his other hand that was wound around her torso.

Silently he went to the corner of the hut that was attached to the tree and sat down, the rain loud against the large leaves sheltering them.

He tried not to look at her; even though he was dying to say a sarcastic remark about her foot being injured –and see the surely equally amusing look on her flustered face. Truly that was the first time they had touched in days, and he was more distracted by the feeling of her body against his to make him think of anything else.

"So..." Tea began once she got settled. The noise must have startled Kaiba because he slightly –barely- jumped and turned to face her menacingly. "How are you?" She asked, and instantly looked away, regretting the simple, but idiotic, question –given their situation and _who_ she was talking to.

"Tolerable." He replied and began to inspect his hands all of a sudden; as if out of boredom.

"Oh." She paused. "So... how was your childhood? It's kind of hard to imagine you young." She asked.

Kaiba stopped looking at his hands and proceeded to stare at nothing in particular as he pondered for a moment about Tea. Why was she so interested all of a sudden? Was she just bored, like he was?

"It was... challenging." He replied without taking a glance at her.

"Uh... were you-" She was cut off.

"Why the sudden interest, Gardner?" He snapped suddenly, catching her off guard. "You never showed an interest before, why now? Are you simply so bored out of your mind that you have to talk? Can't you stay quiet for ten minutes?" He barked in an angry, spiteful tone.

She squinted her eyes. "I was just trying to get to know you a little better. We've been here for months, and I don't even know your favorite ice cream, your favorite color, or what you were like when you were small, or _anything_. I wasn't bored, I just wanted to know! What's wrong with that? What are you afraid of?"

There was a small pause as he took in her retort; tried to analyzed it. "I have no reason to share that kind of stuff with someone like you. No matter what you may think, Gardner, we are not on such intimate terms." He spit out, glaring daggers at her, his blue eyes icey.

But she wasn't going to back down. "Yeah, well no matter what _you_ may think, we _have_ shared something between us, and like it or not I want to know more about you so that we can be friends, because dammit Kaiba, I _want_ to be your friend."

"I neither want or need your friendship." He replied coldly.

"You need it, Kaiba, you definitely need it." She snapped back just as coldly as he did to her. She had begun to crawl a little towards him, minding her hurt ankle.

"Don't tell me what I need, because you know nothing about me." He growled, just as lightning stuck and rumbled around them. The rain came down harder.

"I know plenty! I know you... you are determined and willful and definitely don't like to lose –at anything. You hate losing to Yugi, but you stay focused enough to not let it cloud you; confident that one day you _will_ win. I also know you're ruthless. You work hard, probably more than humanly possible. I know you are smart –a genious even- but sometimes too smart-_ass_ for your own good." She sighed, trying to calm down, even though she was practically emptying everything.

"I know you had a troubled childhood. I know you and your brother were orphans. I _know_ that you love your brother very much, and you have raised him like a father. He's probably the only one you've _ever_ loved. I bet you've never gotten close to a woman –you've never had any girlfriends- but I know it's because you think they're a waste of time and too annoying. I know you love to tease Wheeler only because it's so easy and he reacts the way he does." She saw him roll his eyes slightly, and he stood up and looked like he was about to leave.

"I know you don't want to have friends because you're afraid. You're afraid of betrayal and liability! I also know that no matter what your appearance may give off, you _do_ care for people and their safety!" She exclaimed, and with that he had obviously heard enough and turned and left, storming off into the rain.

She grunted as she stood on her good foot and hobbled to the 'door' and limped into the rain with him. She stopped when she saw that he hadn't run completely away. His back was facing her, and he was only a few yards away.

She continued. "You wouldn't let anyone innocent die; you saved _me_ back in Battle City on the docks! Do you remember? You may mock us, you may even _despise_ us, but you've never wished harm on us." Tea saw his shoulder's stiffen. The rain fell down harder onto both of them, soaking them. The storm roared around them, but neither seemed to notice.

"And this may seem egotistical, but I _know_ you feel something for me..." She said softly. She awaited a response; any response. Why wouldn't he say anything? "Because... because the last kiss we shared –_I felt it_." She said, knowing she was on dangerous grounds. She wobbled slightly on her unbalanced feet as a gust of wind blew at her.

"Kaiba... _Seto_... I _do_ know you, more than you think. Don't you see I _want_ to be your friend, something more in your eyes than Yugi's girl -or some dumb cheerleader!" She saw as he finally began to continue to walk away. She closed her eyes and screamed into the storm's own noises "Don't you see that I care for you! No matter _who_ you are! It's you!"

She froze, trembling in the cold water, her eyes closed shut tightly. She had just admitted her feelings for him, and she was scared; scared that she'd open her eyes and he'd be gone.

But slowly, her courage took the best of her, and she peeked open and looked up to see that her fears were not coming true. He was still standing there, only he was now facing her and now closer; close enough to reach out and touch him.

And she did. She reached out and grabbed onto his shirt in her fists, her weight suddenly resting against him as her ankle buckled. His large hands came up suddenly and rested ontop of her own, holding them. She looked up, painfully slow, and caught his eyes in hers.

The dark blue eyes glared at her with both hesitation and determined resolve. Her heart sank slightly when she felt his hands move hers away from him and to rest at her sides. She frowned at his silent behavior. "_Say something,_" She pleaded in a whispered voice.

He reached out and cupped her cheeks and pulled her close, whispering back against her lips "_Tea_..."

She closed her eyes at the sound of her name being spoken so ardently. All he had to do was say that and she was committed. She parted her lips, lost in the sensation as they brushed against his ever so lightly.

If she wasn't mistaken, she felt him shiver. And he sucked in a breath as he brushed back against her lips. The feathered touches were sending them both past the point of ever caring about the 'bet'.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as his slid down to her waist.

There was another crash of lightning, but neither of them flinched as their lips fell upon eachother's in a passionate meld of yearning and desire.

Somehow they ended up on the ground, rolling in the sand and leaves as the storm raged around them. Rain had long ago soaked them to the skin, their bodies heavy and wet as their lips lifted them into oblivion.

Kaiba loomed over her, his mouth claiming hers as he molded it fervently to her lips. His mouth was so full of pent-up emotion she felt it radiating through her all the way to her cold toes and trembling fingertips.

She rolled slightly so she was pinned above him and she nipped at his lower lip causing him to lose it even more and pulled her body to his firmly, his hands bold enough to escape under her wet shirt to her back.

His teeth scraped her own lips and then his tongue slid in and made her go limp against him, only her hands steadfast and strong as she gripped his shirt, feeling the fabric warm and soaked by rain water.

The wind blew at them and the rain pelted them down, heavy enough to feel like a blanket was covering them as they lost themselves in eachother's arms.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"And that's that." Duke replied coolly as he raised his hands –in the fashion of a mock surrender. He looked over to see Mokuba just staring at him, a little shocked at the whole story behind it.

Mokuba rubbed his forehead after a second of silence. "Seagulls... good thing Seto really _isn't_ here to hear that _seagulls_ nearly took down Kaiba Corp."

There was a moment of small laughter –although it was a bit of an uncomfortable laughter. Mokuba looked up and managed a smile for Duke. "Thankyou Duke, truly. And know that neither Kaiba Corp –nor I- will forget what you did for us; you can guarantee it." He winked at Duke, nodding.

"Thanks." Duke nodded also.

Mokuba cleared his throat and then turned to everyone else. "Who wants room service?"

Everyone agreed yes, especially Joey. Everyone erupted into happy banter and smiles. Mokuba sighed and kept a small smirk on his face. He was glad to have friends like them around. Without them... what would he be now?

* * *

_A/N: ... _


	18. Fall

I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

* * *

Chapter 18 – Fall

* * *

Tea awoke to a salty breeze and an ache in her back. She felt odd, like she was waking up from a strange dream she couldn't quite remember. Groaning, she shifted and noticed she was amidst a pile of leaves, sticks, sand and water.

She sat up and a small branch stuck to her already messy hair. She blinked and tried to focus on her surroundings. She saw the water, being highlighted in the morning sun. It was still dark because of the still-present storm clouds.

She looked down and saw she was filthy and covered in mud. Then she noticed her shirt was gone and she was in her bra alone. She shifted under a large leaf that covered her bottom half and realized that her pants were gone too.

Startled, she began to slowly panic. But before she could go into hysteria, another figure sat up besides her and groaned.

He ruffled his hair slightly, shaking loose leaves and sand. His bare chest had leaves and mud smeared all over him. He leaned on one arm and tilted his head slightly to glare at her with blue eyes that were achingly familiar.

And it all came back to her in that instant.

A rush of emotions came over her, and she was unable to handle all of them at once. She sprung to her feet, clutching the large leaf to cover her exposed body. She ran from him.

Seto Kaiba blinked as he watched her figure run away. Why was she running?

It took a moment for him to realize as well what exactly had happened last night among the leaves, sand, and rain. Oh god, who could ever forget a night like that. The experience was amazing and yet... why did he feel so guilty?

Maybe it was because of the way she looked right then as she left his side. She looked hurt and confused.

He was confused himself though, but seeing her run away –almost terrified- made him feel guilt... a word he thought he would never feel.

Despite what he was or used to be, his instincts told him to go to her. He leapt up and chased after her.

If he had to, he'd chase her around the entire damn island!

Pants! Dammit, pants would be good... he growled to himself as he quickly ran back and slipped on the filthy and still wet pants over his boxers. He zipped them up and then resumed his quest.

It was easy to follow her tracks, and even easier because her ankle was still hurt. He had her in his sights within seconds. She was limping, only in her underwear, the large leaf long discarded.

"Tea!" He called out loudly, but she only hurried her pace. "Tea, stop dammit! You're gonna hurt yourself!"

She didn't say anything and cut through a line of trees and Kaiba recognized the all-too-familiar water hole. She got to the edge and looked in, and then looked back. She saw him approaching.

She closed her eyes and fell backwards into the cold water.

She felt the cold water envelope her and she felt needles all over her skin. The water was a shock, but also a comforting distraction from the man that had been chasing her. Who knew what he was going to say.

Her eyes stared up at the surface of the water. The ripples from her impact made distortions of the world above the water. She saw the leaves that had fallen in the storm resting on the surface.

The water shifted and there was a dulled sound as something else fell into the water next to her. She was pulled up and she gasped at the air her lungs needed. She felt as a warm embrace held her as the person holding her swam to a shallower part of the pond.

When they were chest deep, the figure stopped and let out a frustrated sigh. She didn't say anything. She didn't dare look him in the eyes. Last night she had looked into those piercing eyes as they had... she shivered at the thought.

Then she felt hands brushing and rubbing at her skin. Was he cleaning her? She looked over and saw his large hands delicately wiping the mud and still remaining sand and leaves from her torso and shoulders. Finally he pulled the sticks and leaves from her hair and brushed a hand across her cheek and it rested a moment under her chin before lifting her face to look at his.

Her wet lashes opened enough and she finally willed herself the courage to look into his eyes. He had a strange expression. She went slightly dizzy as images from the night before swam into her mind.

It was a euphorbia of movement. Their touches, caresses, and rhythm. She remembered being lost in the sensations and the sounds. The way his breath would catch, the sound of rain and waves upon the shore. She remembered the overwhelming emotions and the tears...

She pulled her eyes from his and tried to shake from his arms. Even though she was slightly scared of those arms, the way they felt around her was familiar and safe. Her body and her own hands knew every part of his physical make-up now and how it reacted, whether her mind wanted to remember it or not.

Kaiba let out an impatient growl as he tightened his hold around her. She was being so troublesome –acting like a little child. He couldn't help but roll his eyes at her child-like antics.

He finally decided to end her flailing and he completely wrapped his arms around her waist and held her to him tightly. She struggled more, but finally stopped and allowed herself to rest her head against his shoulder.

After what seemed like hours, she finally let out a anxious breath and allowed herself to smile. She had noticed that he was shivering as well as herself from the cool water. She let out a small giggle, realizing just how foolish her little episode was; how foolish both of them were.

"What could possibly be funny?" Kaiba asked against her shoulder, his voice strained and sounding a little perturbed.

"Us." She replied, still giggling. "We're hopeless."

Kaiba finally released his hold, seeing as she was somewhat 'back to normal' in his mind. "You may be hopeless, but I assure you I am nothing of the kind." He began to wash himself off of the dirt, mud and leaves still on his exposed body.

She did the same, but was interrupted by Kaiba's voice. The tone of his voice was curious –which only came out as demanding, coming from Kaiba.

"Why did you run away like that?"

She paused, trying to find the answer herself. "I guess I was a bit scared. Afterall, it's not everyday you wake up half naked next to Seto Kaiba after a whole night of..." She trailed off.

Kaiba picked up the rest of the sentence, finishing it for her rather bluntly, "'making out.'"

She avoided his gaze a second. "Yeah," was her only reply. She fought the heat of her blush as she remembered more from last night.

No words were said, they simply expressed themselves physically. Tea didn't know how to feel about that, either. She felt embarrassed and shy all of a sudden. The tension began to build again around them.

As if sensing the tension, Kaiba broke in with an arrogant statement. "You liked it."

She frowned and suddenly the shyness and awkwardness was erased and replaced with anger. "Oh I did, did I?" She asked, looking him in the eyes with a fiery passion. "Who says I did, anyway? Maybe I hated it."

He gave her a glare that meant he saw through her façade.

She frowned at his arrogance. "Oh so you're the expert on what I like and don't like huh?"

"I think I can speak with confidence that you thoroughly enjoyed what happened last night." He said smugly, eyeing her intently, observing the small trace of a smile on her lips.

"What if I didn't, huh? What if I felt like you took advantage of me, and that that argument really hurt my feelings."

"If it really happened that way, then why did you confess your feelings to me like you did?"

She felt the heat rise in her cheeks, but she creased her brow as she remembered something. "Oh yeah, about that, mister too-good-for-words. After saying that to you, you didn't say a word. Not a damn thing but my name for crying out loud. What was that about?"

"From the outcome, I would have said that my answer was clear enough."

"Ugh!" Tea hit her head with her fist. Why was he so difficult sometimes? Was he doing it on purpose just to drive her insane? "You are one selfish, self-centered, spoiled –hmmff!"

Not this again! Oh no! She wasn't going... to... to... ahh, hell with it! She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and gave in to the wonderful taste of his lips as he kissed her to silence.

He molded his lips to hers, forcing a small moan from her throat as he expertly played with her lower lip. She pulled closer to him, swearing that the once cold water was now boiling. His hands moved across her back, every now and then gripping her to him tightly.

He began to trail kisses down her neck and found the delicious spot he knew would drive her insane. He gently kissed the still-visible love mark and then sucked against it as he had last night. She arched her back and her hands flew to his hair and massaged his head.

If he didn't know better, he could have sworn his eyes rolled up into his head for a moment. He felt her hot breath on his cheek and then she nipped his ear and whispered, "it always tastes sweeter after we argue, doesn't it?"

He shivered despite his willpower and gave a small noise of agreement. "Then let's argue more often," he answered as he wrapped her legs around his waist and continued to kiss her neck.

"It's a deal," she moaned out.

"Don't make a deal you can't uphold," he said running a hand down her leg.

"Never," she breathed and tilted her head back as his hand reached her hip and squeezed her flesh.

He captured her mouth in another satisfying kiss as they waded in the water.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Duke took off his helmet as he stopped at the familiar looking port near the ocean. He got off his motorcycle and ran a hand through his dark spiky locks.

He walked along the wooden planks that made up the sidewalks as he reached an also familiar tavern.

When Mokuba had mentioned being 'rewarded' he really meant it. Duke had received a hefty sum and some stocks in Kaiba Corp.

It had been a few weeks and already Mokuba had managed to boost company morale and public recognition; pushing the tragedies and losses behind.

Even though it was costing a pretty penny to rebuild both the Kaiba Corp building and the mansion, Mokuba didn't seem too concerned over the temporary loss of money. In fact, the kid had mentioned a tournament he was going to host with a nice reward to get more people to arrive; in the anticipation that most were still afraid to attend another event hosted by a Kaiba, especially after what happened when the dueling ship was attacked.

Duke was already becoming famous himself for his dungeon dice game, but now with Kaiba Corp's additional funding, it was beginning to look like a fruitful future for him.

He could already tell his fame was getting more popular, so before his life became too much more hectic, he decided to visit an 'old' friend, and give him a little gift from Mokuba Kaiba himself.

Duke pushed open the doors to the bar and took a quick scan and found several young guys at the bar laughing and drinking, and then in the corner, the man he was searching for, was sipping on what looked to be hot tea.

Duke strode over and sat down on the empty seat across from Dan.

Dan looked up and a toothy smile greeted Duke. "Well well, Dukie boy! Long time no see... what's it been, almost a month?"

"Yeah, almost." He nodded, flinching still at his nickname.

"Didn't figure I'd sees you again. Didn't take you for the water-luvin type."

"I still don't like water, believe me. Nor seagulls for that matter." Duke replied and this raised a loud chuckle from Dan, causing Duke to laugh out loud as well.

"So what are ya really here for then, Dukie?" Dan asked, when their laughter died down.

Duke smiled and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. He handed it to him and Dan looked down at it, opening the envelope. He saw that it was a check and then he looked at the amount he was being given.

"What in the... Dukie? Is this for me?"

"Sure is. Remember those 'colleagues' I was helping from those fighters? Well, they are, let's say, a very rich company and you helped save them so... there's your reward." Duke saw the older man's face light up even more and he pushed out from his chair and raised a hand in the air.

"Drinks on me!" He exclaimed and a big cheer sounded throughout the bar.

Duke smiled nervously as he was handed a beer, despite his age.

The celebration lasted quite a number of hours, and Duke had been conned into sitting at the bar with the rest of the younger fisherman and captains.

Even though Duke had managed to stay sober, Dan was rambling on about the seagulls; most of the patrons taking his story as a work of fiction –due to the booze and his history for telling tall tales.

A young man next to Duke threw an arm around Dan. "Tell me about it, old man, the seas are a dangerous place ain't it?" He asked, obviously having had one too many himself.

"Sure is." Dan agreed. "You got any stories, young feller?"

Duke was almost done with this crowd, but he figured one more story couldn't hurt before he left.

The young man with dark hair nodded and searched his hazy memory. "Oh yeah, this one time, get this get this, I was making a pit stop at an island like I usually do to get some water right? Well, this one island had this couple –they were stranded an' in poor condition. Man, did the guy look beat up. I had to carry the sorry somabitch onboard too, cause he was sick or somethin. Anyway! Guess what they did because of my gratitude!"

"What?"

"They tried to hijack my boat, so I threw them overboard."

"Really?" Dan asked.

"Yeah! They came at me with an axe! But boy... was that girl a looker! She was a cutie-pie! With short brown hair and legs that wouldn't quit, big blue eyes... man, and she was-" he was cut off by being grabbed by the scruff of his collar and being brought face to face with menacing green eyes.

"She tell you her name!" Duke demanded.

"W-what?"

"Her name, what was her name!"

"I don't know, Tea or something... what's it to-" He was cut off again as Duke thrust the man against the bar with a strong grip.

"Take me there... Now!"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_A/N: Hehehehehe? Don't kill me please? I know it's been a long time but... forgive me? I really didn't mean for it to be such a long wait, but life just took a turn and handed me lots to deal with, okay? Well, hopefully I'm in a better position, and maybe this semester will be a little less stressful right? God, I hope so. Anyway, review or don't because I feel I don't deserve any as of right now. Oh yeah! And for those of you who even remember this incident, for it was months ago... people- please don't give mean reviews about other reviews I might receive, because those reviews are for me and maybe I deserve to be criticized sometimes, because lord knows my writing could use some work and the only way to get better is to know what I'm doing wrong. And we all don't want me kicked off fanfic right? Kay? Okay! well, with that taken care of, please forgive me again for the delay. I really didn't mean for it to be so long. I hope everyone has a great 2006 and a great semester (for those fellow college students out there) and I'll see you on the flip side!_


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